EPORJ  OF 


OF    THE 


SECOND 


HELD   AT 


HELENA/MONTANA, 


Pebruarv  O  arid  1O,   1B1KJ. 


With  Reports  of  the  State  of  Irrigation  in  Several 
Counties. 


o  -O— o-O-o— O-o-O-c •-  O:o— <X-o— <>-o— 
o-O— o— O— o— O — o— O — 0--O—0— O-o—  O-  o— 


I&PORT  OF  '1ROCEEDI.NGS 


OF    THE 


SECOND 


.  Iiription .  Convention 


HELD    AT 


HELENA,  MONTANA, 


February  O  and  ip,  1893. 


With  Reports  of  the  State  of  Irrigation  in  Several 
Counties. 


GREAT   FALLS,   MONT. 

PRESS   OF    THE    LEADER    COMPANY. 

1893. 


SECOND   ANNUAL  SESSION 


OF    THE 


STATE  #  IRRIGATION  *  ®ONVENTION. 


The  State  Irrigation  Convention  was  called  to  order  Thursday, 
February  9,  1893,  at  n  o'clock  a.  m.,  in  the  Board  of  Trade  rooms, 
Helena,  by  H.  P.  Rolfe,  of  Great  Falls,  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee  appointed  by  the  first  irrigation  convention  in  January, 
1892. 

Mayor  Curtin  of  Helena  welcomed  the  delegates  in  the  following 
address: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Irrigation  Convention:  This  convention  is 
opportune.  I  congratulate  you  upon  the  time,  place  and  purpose  of 
your  meeting.  No  subject  is  engaging  the  public  mind  more  and 
none  deserves  more  consideration  and  thorough  attention  than  the 
question  of  irrigation.  Every  man  of  experience  or  observation  in 
this  state  appreciates  the  great  possibilities  that  await  a  well  directed 
and  comprehensive  system  of  irrigation.  Various  and  divergent 
views  are  presented  as  to  the. manner  of  accomplishing  the  most 
beneficial  results.  Should  the  state,  under  the  constitutional  provis- 
ion declaring  the  use  of  water  to  be  "a  public  use,"  assume  to  regu- 
late and  control  that  use,  or  shall  the  whole  matter  be  left  to  indi- 
vidual or  corporate  control? 


583218 


J.  SESSION. 


Your  convention  is  composed  of  gentlemen  possessing  a  wide 
range  of  learning,  supplemented  by  close  observation  and  experience 
of  all  that  relates  to  a  proper  solution  of  the  questions  submitted  to 
your  consideration  and  discussion,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
conclusions  you  reach  will  go  far  toward  molding  sentiment  and 
shaping  legislation  in  the  right  direction. 

You  will  find  that  quite  a  number  of  the  citizens  of  Helena  have 
been  active  and  earnest  in  pressing  the  irrigation  question  on  the 
attention  of  the  people,  conscious  that  a  speedy  and  proper  solution 
of  it  will  result  in  great  and  permanent  prosperity  to  the  whole  state. 

Omitting  any  observations  at  this  time  as  to  the  proper  methods 
to  be  adopted  or  recommended,  and  assuring  you  that  no  community 
in.the  state  feels  a  livelier  interest  in  the  result  of  your  deliberations, 
I  extend  you  a  most  cordial  welcome  to  Helena. 

Gov.  Rickards  sent  a  letter  expressing  his  regret  at  his  inability 
to  be  present.  Letters  were  read  by  the  secretary,  S.  B.  Robbins, 
from  the  general  passenger  agents  of  the  Northern  Pacific  and  Great 
Northern  railroads  in  reference  to  transportation. 

The  following  committee  on  credentials  was  appointed:  Z.  T. 
Burton,  Choteau;  J.  A.  Brown,  Beaverhead;  C.  H.  Hardenbrook, 
Deer  Lodge;  S.  Deutsch,  Park  county,  and  W.  H.  Sutherlin, 
Meagher  county. 

The  following  committee  on  permanent  organization,  consisting 
of  one  member  from  each  county  represented,  was  appointed: 
W.  M.  Oliver,  Beaverhead;  W.  D.  Cooper.  Choteau;  G.  Sheets,  Cus- 
ter;  W.  F.  Parker,  Cascade;  Charles  Mussigbrod,  Deer  Lodge; 
J.  M.  Robinson,  Gallatin;  A.  H.  Nelson,  Lewis  and  Clarke;  J.  E. 
Kanouse,  Meagher;  P.  Carney,  Madison;  I.  D.  O'Donnell,  Yellow- 
stone; E.  Ryan,  Jefferson;  W.  F.  Shanks,  Park. 

After  which  a  recess  was  ordered  until  2  p.  m.  to  await  the  re- 
ports of  the  committees. 

THURSDAY   AFTERNOON. 

At  2  p.  m.  the  convention  was  called  to  order  by  Chairman 
Rolfe. 

The  committee  on  credentials  reported  as  follows:  That  the 
following  delegates  were  present  and  entitled  to  seats  in  the  con- 
vention: 

Beaverhead— W.  R.  Gilbert,  James  Edie,  Charles  Padley,  W.  M. 
Oliver,  J.  E.  Morse,  B.  F.  White,  R.  C.  Halliday,  J.  A.  Brown,  W.  T. 
Maulden,  Phil.  Lovell. 

Cascade— S.  B.  Robbins,  W.  F.  Parker,  N.  T.  Porter,  H.  P.  Rolfe, 

C.  H.  Wright,  J.  O.  Gregg,  M.  S.  Burns,  J.  Bookwalter,  D.  J.  Tallant, 

D.  W.  Beecher. 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  5 


Choteau -  J.  W.  Power,  U.  G.  Allen,  Charles  Blackman,  Thomas 
O'Hanlon,  Milt  Cooper,  Julius  Hirshberg,  E.  E.  Leech,  T.  C.  Burns, 
W.  H.  Green,  Z.  T.  Burton. 

>(     Custer— W.    N.    Haynes,    L.   A.    Huffman,    Geo.    Schutz,    J.    R. 
McKay. 

Gallatin — John  M.  Robinson,  Charles  Sales,  George  Kinkle,  Jr. 
W.  W.  Alderson,  B.  F.  Shuart,  Chas.  P.  Blakely,  Thomas  Reece, 
A.  K.  Stanton,  J.  A.  Luce,  Arthur  Truman. 

^     Deer  Lodge — D.  M.  Durfee,    Andrew  Whitesides,   G.  W.  Morse, 
John  Blair,  N.  J.  Bielenberg,  Israel   Gibbs,~John  Goff,  Charles   Mus- 
/  sigbrod,  J.  E.  Hyde,  C.  K.  Hardenbrook,  W.  L.  Hove. 
1          Jefferson — Ed.  Ryan,  A.  C.  Quaintance,  A.  Belcher,  Jesse   Pat- 
terson, R.  W.  Noble,  C.  W.  Brooke,  A.  Macomber,  W.  U.  Williams, 
Henry  Reed,  John  Keating.       Alternates — Wm.  Kennedy,  T.  J.  Gal- 
ibraith,  S.  C.  Harris. 

{  Lewis  and  Clarke— S.  T.  Hauser,  T.  H.  Carter,  W.  C.  Child, 
E.  D.  Weed,  D.  A.  Cory,  H.  M.  Parchen,  C.  K.Weils,  T.  E.Crutcher, 
A.  H.  Nelson,  G.  C.  Swallow.  Alternates— A.  M.  Holter,  Peter 
Winne,  Donald  Bradford,  W.  M.  G.  Settles,  Norman  Holter,  W.  A. 
Haven,  Sen.  W.  F.  Sanders. 

Madison— Hon.  S.  R.  Buford,  Patrick  Carney,  J.  B.  Jeffers, 
Alex.  Metzel,  John  T.  Connor,  R.  O.  Hickman,  W.  A.  Gray. 

Meagher— J.   E.  Kanouse,  D.  E.   Folsom,  Wm.  Sutherlin,  J.  A. 
Woodson,  W.  E.  Tierney,  N.  E.  Benson,  H.  S.  Hyatt,  Wm.  Mueller, 
Ed.  Cooney,  G.  V.  Stafford. 
>j        Missoula — G.  W.  Ward,  L.  C.  Loring,  Fred  Whiteside,   Frank 

Higgins,  Thos.  C.  Marshall,  Chas.  M.  Crutchfield. 

J  Park— S.  Deutsch,  Thos.  P.  McDonald,  Alfred  Myers,  J.  M.  Con- 
row,  W.  Shanks,  H.  J.  Hoppe. 

[     Silver  Bow — John  Caplice,  Lee  Mantle,  Geo.  Irvine  II. 
N     Yellowstone— Fred  H.  Foster,  I.  D.  O'Donnell, Jusdjvweetman, 
~C^as_J^^p_ear,  Frank  Whitney,  J.  R.  Goss,  John  Ramsey,  A.  Graham, 
Paul  McCormick. 

The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  committee  was  continued  to 
report  further  as  the  delegates  arrived. 

The  committee  on  permanent  organization,  through  its  chair- 
man, W.  M.  Oliver,  reported  the  following  names  for  permanent 
officers: 

President— H.  P.  Rolfe,  Cascade. 

Secretary — S.  B.  Robbins,  Cascade. 

Treasurer — W.  H.  Sutherlin,  Meagher. 

Vice  Presidents— R.  O.  Hickman,  Madison;    C.  Hardenbrook, 


SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 


Deer  Lodge;  Alfred  Myers,  Park;  A.  M.  Holter,  Lewis  and  Clarke. 

The  committee  also  reported  the  following  order  of  business: 

Thursday  Afternoon — Appointment  of  committee  on  irrigation 
laws,  to  consist  of  one  from  each  county;  appointment  of  committee 
to  give  reports  on  irrigation  in  each  county  in  the  state,  represented 
in  this  meeting;  appointment  of  committee  on  constitution  and  by- 
laws; reading  of  papers;  discussion  of  best  methods  of  building  irri- 
gation canals  and  reservoirs;  adjournment. 

Evening  Session,  at  7:30 — Address  by  Lieut.-Gov.  Botkin;  dis- 
cussion of  the  irrigation  law  now  before  the  legislature. 

Friday,  10  a.  m.-— Report  of  county  committees;  report  of  com- 
mittee on  irrigation  law.  Afternoon — Report  of  committee  on  con- 
stitution and  by-laws;  election  of  permanent  officers  for  ensuing 
year;  memorials  to  congress,  and  miscellaneous  subjects. 

On  motion  the  officers  named  in  the  report  were  duly  elected, 
and  the  order  of  business  as  read  was  adopted. 

The  president,  H.  P.  Rolfe,  having  thanked  the  convention  for 
the  honor,  took  his  seat,  and  announced  as  the  first  order  of  business 
the  appointment  of  the  committee  on  irrigation  law,  and  asked  for 
names  to  be  suggested  from  each  county.  The  following  members 
Vere  appointed: 

A.  H.  Nelson,  chairman,  Lewis  and  Clarke;  W.  R.  Gilbert, 
Beaverhead;  W.  F.  Parker,  Cascade;  Z.  T.  Burton,  Choteau;  L.  A. 
Hoffman,  Custer;  D.  M.  Durfee,  Deer  Lodge;  A.  C.  Quaintance, 
Jefferson;  J.  M.  Robinson,  Gallatin;  W.  H.  Sutherlin,  Meagher; 
G.  W.  Ward,  Missoula;  A.  B.  Myers.  Park;  I.  D.  O'Donnell,  Yellow- 
stone; P.  Carney,  Madison. 

.The  next  business  in  order  being  that  of  the  appointment   of   a 
committee  on  constitution  and  by-laws,  the  following  were  appointed: 

Z.  T.  Burton,  chairman,  Choteau;  C.  H.  Wright,  Cascade;  B.  F. 
Shuart,  Gallatin;  G.  C.  Swallow,  Lewis  and  Clarke;  John  T.  Connor, 
Madison. 

Prof.  Swallow  then  made  a  motion  that  a  committee  of  five  en- 
gineers be  appointed  to  make  a  report  on  the  subject  of  the  con- 
struction of  canals  and  reservoirs.  Referred  to  committee  on  con- 
stitution and  by-laws. 

On  motion  a  committee  was  appointed  to  give  reports  from  each 
county  on  the  status  of  irrigation,  as  follows: 

Jos.  A.  Browne,  Beaverhead;  N.  T.  Porter,  Cascade;  U.G.Allen, 
Choteau;  J.  R.  ivicKay,  Custer;  Chas.  Mussigbrod,  Deer  Lodge; 
Ed.  Ryan,  Jefferson;  W.  W.  Alderson,  Gallatin;  Donald  Bradford, 
Lewis  and  Clarke;  J.  E.  Kanouse,  Meagher;  G.  W.  Ward,  Missoula; 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION. 


T.   B.   McDonald,  Park;    I.  D.  O'Donnell,  Yellowstone;  R.  O.  Hick- 
man,  Madison. 

It  was  moved  by  Mr.  Nelson  that  the  convention  invite  the  state 
legislature  to  be  present  at  session  this  evening.  The  motion  was 
carried,  and  Messrs.  Nelson  and  Burton  were  selected  as  messengers 
to  transmit  the  invitations. 

A  recess  was  then  taken  to  allow  committee  on  constitution  and 
by-laws  to  report  at  this  session.  The  committee  on  by-laws  and 
constitution  stated  that  they  could  not  report  till  tomorrow  and 
were  given  further  time. 

After  some  preliminary  discussion  on  the  subject  of  irrigation 
generally  and  the  reading  of  a  paper  on  the  subject  by  John  M. 
Robinson  of  Gallatin,  the  roll  of  counties  was  called  for  reports  on 
the  state  of  irrigation  in  each.  I.  D.  O'Donnell  of  Yellowstone  said 
there  was  lots  of  water  in  his  section,  but  what  they  wanted  now 
principally  was  more  ditches,  and  the  farmers  would  like  to  own  the 
big  ones.  Crops  had  been  very  successful  in  the  past  season.  The 
ceded  portion  of  the  Crow  reservation  recently  thrown  open  to  set- 
tlement afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the  small  farmers  who 
would  raise  chickens,  fruits,  hogs  and  such  products.  Helena,  Butte 
and  other  towns  which  now  import  their  articles  of  consumption  by 
the  thousands  of  tons  would  give  the  small  holder  of  land  a  ready 
market  for  the  products  of  his  farm.  Dr.  G.  C.  Swallow  said  that 
was  just  what  Montana  needed,  men  who  would  be  content  with  160 
acres;  we  don't  want  the  big  farmers.  Fred  Whiteside  of  Mi«.soula 
echoed  these  views,  but  said  the  water  for  irrigation  must  first  be 
provided,  and  then  it  would  be  time  enough  to  invite  the  small 
farmer  to  cultivate  the  land. 

Some  startling  facts  were  brought  to  light  by  C.  H.  Wright  of 
Cascade  as  to  the  amount  of  money  paid  out  by  the  people  of  that 
county  for  food  brought  into  the  state  that  Mr.  Wright  said  should 
be  produced  here.  Mr.  Wright  then  read  the  report  of  the  special 
committee  of  the  board  of  trade  of  the  city  of  Great  Falls,  prepared 
by  Mr.  W.  M.  Bole,  of  the  Leader,  as  follows: 
To  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trade: 

SIR— In  pursuance  to  a  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Trade  ap- 
pointing me  on  a  committee  to  ascertain,  with  such  exactness  as 
might  be  possible,  the  amount  of  money  which  is  annually  sent  out 
of  this  city  and  county  in  payment  for  farm  products  such  as  might 
have  been  produced  within  the  limits  of  this  county,  I  beg  leave  to 
report  that  I  have  made  as  thorough  an  investigation  into  the  matter 
as  my  time  and  sources  of  information  would  permit,  and  I  find  that 
the  gross  value  of  such  imported  products  of  the  farm  amounts  to 
the  sum  of  $366,572,  divided  as  follows: 


SECOND   ANNUAL    SESSION. 


Smoked  meats $127,522  34  Potatoes $  3,000  oo 

Flour 5M34  oo  Butter 44,000  oo 

Pork 45,600  oo  Cheese 5,364  oo 

Eggs 42,400  oo  Oatmeal  6,152  oo 

Poultry  19,700  oo  Cornmeal 5, 300  oo 

Apples 6,300  oo  Vegetables,  fruits 9,80000 

Total $366,572  34 

The  value  of  any  statistics,  and  especially  such  statistics  as 
these,  depends  of  course  on  their  completeness  and  accuracy,  and  I 
deem  it  proper  and  just  that  I  should  supplement  this  report  by  a 
few  remarks  in  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  obtained 
and  the  reliability  and  completeness  of  the  various  items.  Smoked 
meats  is  an  item  which  heads  the  list  and  which  is  supplied  almost 
entirely  from  outside  the  state,  taking  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Cascade  county  the  enormous  sum  of  $127,522.34,  according  to 
the  returns  received  from  the  merchants  of  the  county.  One  firm 
alone  pays  out  over  §40,000  per  annum  for  this  commodity,  and  an- 
other firm  follows  close  on  these  figures. 

The  next  heaviest  item  on  the  list  is  flour,  which  amounts  to 
$51,434  per  annum.  Little  need  be  said  on  this  topic,  as  it  will  un- 
doubtedly dwindle  to  insignificant  proportions  or  disappear  alto- 
gether within  the  next  year,  when  our  new  flouring  mill  gets  into  op- 
eration. 

Pork  and  lard  comes  next  on  the  list,  costing  $45,600,  and  of 
course  all  that  has  been  said  on  the  subject  of  smoked  meats  applies 
equally  to  this  topic.  I  am  assured  that  all  the  pork  raised  in  this 
county  in  a  year  would  not  supply  the  market  in  this  city  a  week 
and  that  a  good  high  figure  is  always  obtainable  here  for  home- 
raised  pork. 

Eggs,  butter  and  poultry  are  three  items  which  have  always 
been  able  to  meet  with  a  ready  sale  here  and  considerable  quantities 
are  brought  in  from  the  surrounding  country  and  sold  here  by  the 
farmers,  and  yet  there  has  been  over  $100,000  sent  out  of  the  country 
to  make  up  the  deficit  between  the  supply  and  demand.  I  am  told 
by  a  large  dealer  in  butter  that  a  better  price  could  be  obtained  by 
the  local  farmers  for  this  product  if  a  creamery  was  established  here 
as  the  demand  is  for  a  better  keeping  butter  than  the  dairy  butter 
usually  is.  The  item  of  potatoes,  which  is  put  down  at  $3,000, 
is  one  which  in  some  years  amounts  to  a  large  sum.  The  $3,000 
charged  to  this  item  wa's  for  shipments  made  within  a  few  weeks. 
Up  to  this  time  sufficient  potatoes  could  be  obtained  at  home,  but 
the  supply  is  now  said  to  be  about  exhausted  and  a  considerable 
quantity  will  have  to  be  shipped  in  before  the  new  crop  becomes 
available.  Apples  are  another  item  in  the  list  amounting  to  $6,300, 
which  I  believe  to  be  below  the  actual  figures.  That  they  can  be 
successfully  raised  here  is  maintained  by  some  who  have  given  the 
subject  attention.  Oatmeal,  cornmeal  and  vegetables  aggregate 
about  $20,000  more. 

As  1  said  before,  statistics  such  as  these  are  only  valuable  as 
they  are  accurate,  and  a  few  words  will  be  in  place  as  to  how  they 
were  obtained.  A  blank  form  was  left  with  every  wholesale  and  re- 
tail merchant  in  town,  containing  a  list  of  the  various  farm  products 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION. 


in  question,  and  a  request  made  of  them  that  they  fill  up  the  form 
with  a  statement  of  the  amount  of  each  item  imported  by  them  from 
abroad  during  the  year.  These  were  afterward  gathered  and  col- 
lated as  given  above. 

There  is  a  class  of  importers  of  farm  products  of  which  no  ac- 
count has  been  made  in  these  figures,  and  that  is  the  small  hotels, 
boarding  houses  and  private  families. 

Taking  these  various  items  into  account,  I  believe  it  to  be  a 
moderate  estimate  to  say  that  the  total  amount  of  money  which  goes 
out  of  Cascade  county  in  one  year  for  the  purchase  of  the  farm  pro- 
ducts above  mentioned  will  come  very  close  to  $500,000.  The  effect 
of  keeping  in  the  pockets  of  the  people  of  the  county  this  vast  sum 
of  money,  or  even  half  of  it,  is  something  too  obvious  to  be  dilated 
on.  It  would  mean  new  life  blood  circulating  through  all  the  veins 
and  arteries  of  trade  and  commerce  in  this  section  of  the  state. 

Major  Alderson  of  the  Gallatin  county  delegation  said  the 
trouble  with  the  Gallatin  county  farmers  was  that  they  could  not  al- 
ways dispose  of  all  their  produce.  There  was  a  prejudice  against 
Hour  made  there,  although  enough  was  turned  out  by  the  mill  to  feed 
half  of  the  population  of  Montana.  The  mills  had  tried  to  sell  their 
flour  in  Helena  and  Butte  but  with  indifferent  success,  especially  in 
the  capital  city.  The  millers,  however,  got  around  this  difficulty  by 
placing  the  Montana  flour  in  Minnesota  sacks,  and  no  one  com- 
plained. All  the  eggs,  bacon  and  chickens  raised  in  the  Gallatin 
valley  are  consumed  there.  The  only  thing  they  exported  was  the 
barley,  which  has  been  pronounced  to  be  superior  to  any  raised  in 
the  United  States. 

J.  M.  Robinson  gave  prices  of  products  of  Gallatin  county. 

Peter  Winne  of  Helena  told  the  delegates  about  his  experience 
in  Colorado,  a  state  which  had  gone  all  through  what  Montana  is 
now  dealing  with.  He  had  seen  Denver  grow  from  a  small  place 
until  it  reached  a  population  with  a  pay  roll  of  11,000  mechanics.  All 
the  difficulties  had  been  overcome  by  patience,  and  so  it  will  be  with 
Montana.  Referring  to  the  prejudice  against  Montana  flour,  he  said 
he  thought  perhaps  it  was  not  made  right.  He  had  sampled  some 
himself  which  was  not  very  good. 

B.  F.  Shuart  of  Gallatin  did  not  think  there  was  any  necessity 
for  bringing  any  more  farmers  into  Montana.  The  times  had 
changed,  and  now  there  was  overproduction.  Colorado  and  other 
states  were  sending  into  this  state  their  overproduction,  a  serious 
thing  for  the  Montana  farmer.  People  who  lived  in  cities  were  al- 
ways trying  to  tell  the  farmers  how  to  carry  on  their  business.  The 
idea  of  bringing  in  small  farmers  to  raise  chickens  was  all  very  well, 
but  his  experience  had  been  that  it  was  not  always  convenient  for 
every  farmer  to  carry  out  the  fads  proposed  by  the  city  people. 


io  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 


What  the  state  needed  now  was  more  bread  consumers  rather  than 
more  producers. 

An  entirely  opposite  view  and  one  which  seemed  to  meet  the 
approval  of  the  convention  was  advanced  by  1.  D.  O'Donnell  of 
Yellowstone.  He  took  a  very  hopeful  view  of  the  future  and  said 
the  present  was  full  of  promise.  He  told  of  men  who  came  to  the 
Yellowstone  country  five  years  ago  without  money  and  who  are  now 
the  owners  of  good  improved  farms  and  worth  $5,000  to  $ro,coo.  As 
an  instance  of  the  soil,  he  told  of  one  who  raised  $2,400  worth  of 
fruit  last  year.  They  were  all  doing  well  and  seemed  to  be  more  in 
touch  with  the  times  than  the  almanac  farmer.  Most  of  them  were 
satisfied  with  small  holdings,  and  all  of  them  would  do  well.  He 
didn't  think  there  was  anything  wrong  with  the  Montana  farmer  who 
attended  to  his  business.  There  were  some  of  them  who  had  become 
so  successful  that  they  had  moved  into  town  and  built  fine  residences 
and  there  were  others  who  spent  their  winters  in  California. 

It  was  then  moved  to  have  a  stenographer  take  down  the  future 
proceedings  of  the  convention.  The  motion  was  carried.  A  recess 
was  then  taken  till  evening. 

TH U RS 1 ) A Y    E V E N I NG. 

At  8  p.  m.  President  Rolfe  called  the  convention  to  order,  and 
announced  the  first  exercise  of  the  evening  to  be  the  address  of 
Lieut. -Gov.  Botkin. 

Gov.  Botkin  then  delivered  the  following  address  upon  the 
Chemistry  of  Irrigation: 

The  people  of  the  United  States  are  in  the  habit  of  boasting  that 
ours  is  the  greatest  agricultural  country  on  the  globe.  In  some  re- 
spects this  is  true.  It  is  true  as  regards  the  variety  of  our  products, 
but  that  follows  from  the  fact  that  our  area  embraces  every  kind  of 
climate,  from  antarctic  to  tropical.  It  is  probably  true  as  to  acreage, 
but  this  again  is  only  to  say  that  we  have  a  domain  so  vast  that  it 
stretches  from  perpetual  snow  to  perpetual  summer,  and  that  as  the 
last  rays  of  the  setting  sun  gild  the  tops  of  our  Alaskan  peaks,  the 
light  of  the  coming  morning  flashes  upon  the  rocks  of  Maine.  It  is 
true  of  the  number  and  variety  of  the  mechanical  appliances  which 
we  employ  and  which  we  have  contributed  to  the  agriculture  of  the 
world.  If  there  is  any  labor-saving  device  in  common  use  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  that  is  not  an  American  invention,  I  never 
happened  to  hear  of  it. 

But  it  is  conspicuously  untrue  of  the  methods  which  we  practice 
so  far  as  regards  developing  the  largest  possibilities  of  production  in 
a  given  tract  of  land.  Here  we  might  with  profit  seek  elementary 
instruction  from  the  Japanese,  whom  we  are  in  the  habit  of  looking 
upon  as  a  people  the  reverse  of  progressive.  They  have  not  failed 
to  meet  the  necessities  arising  from  the  ratio  of  their  population  to 


STATE    IRRIGATION  CONVENTION.  •  11 

{.heir  tillable  area.  Their  agriculture  is  based  upon  the  fundamental 
principle  that  the  sole  duty  of  the  soil  is  to  afford  mechanical  sup- 
port to  the  plant  and  to  act  as  the  reservoir  and  conduit  of  its  food. 
The  duty  of  feeding  it  is  quite  another  matter,  and  that  devolves  up- 
on the  farmer.  He  would  no  more  neglect  to  feed  the  growing  vege- 
table than  we  would  neglect  to  feed  a  pig  or  calf  that  we  would  rear 
to  usefulness,  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  is  the  true  theory  of 
agriculture. 

I  learned  recently  of  a  change  that  has  come  over  the  farming 
industry  of  my  native  state  of  Wisconsin,  Its  rich  loam  with  a  sub- 
soil of  clay  seemed  to  be  inexhaustible  in  its  fertility,  but  of  course 
it  was  not  without  its  limitations.  Intelligent  farmers  engaged  large- 
ly in  raising  blooded  stock  and  delivered  the  products  of  their  land 
o"n  their  legs  to  a  hungry  market,  and  so,  it 'may  be  said,  got  there 
with  four  feet.  They  soon  were  able  to  buy  out  their  thriftless  neigh- 
bors, who,  it  is  to  be  apprehended,  thereupon  moved  farther  west, 
principally  to  the  Dakotas.  Then  came  another  change.  The  own 
ers  of  large  farms  in  Wisconsin,  and  presumably  in  the  neighboring 
states,  found  it  to  advantage  to  let  them  in  small  holdings  to  immi- 
grants from  the  agricultural  countries  of  Europe,  who  have  been 
taught  to  make  the  utmost  possible  use  of  every  square  foot  of 
ground.  They  themselves  removed  to  the  adjacent  cities,  where 
they  would  enjoy  greater  social  and  educational  advantages.  These 
changes  involve  a  new  system  of  landlordism  and  threaten  a  recur- 
rence to  feudal  conditions  which  have  a  political  aspect  that  is  far 
from  hopeful.  The  consideration  of  this  would  be  wholly  alien  to 
my  subject;  but  it  may  be  confidently  stated  that  it  would  be  a  sad 
day  for  the  republic  when  it  should  become  a  rule  and  not  the  ex- 
ception that  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  is  separated  from  its  owner- 
ship. The  possession  by  the  citizen  of  the  land  that  he  tills  is  one  of 
the  strongest  muniments  of  our  institutions. 

The  processes  by  which  irrigation  nourishes  growing  crops — 
behold  my  theme  !  Many  years  ago,  an  interesting  experiment  was 
tried.  Common  sand  was  first  thoroughly  cleansed  by  boiling  in 
nitro-muriatic  acid,  which  was  then  carefully  removed  by  washing  in 
water.  Next,  seeds  of  various  grains  were  deposited  in  the  sand  and 
moisture  supplied.  Barley  and  oats  sprouted  and  grew  to  the  height 
of  eighteen  inches;  they  blossomed  but  did  not  come  to  seed,  and 
soon  withered,  drooped  and  died.  The  same  results  followed  when, 
instead  of  sand,  a  mass  of  horsehair  was  used  to  sustain  the  plant 
and  consume  the  moisture.  It  may  be  stated  particularly  that  there 
is  something  wanting  in  the  report  of  these  experiments,  as  it  does 
not  appear  that  the  water  used  was  first  distilled.  If  not,  it  may  be 
surmised  that  it  provided  in  part  the  ingredients  that  insured  the 
growth  of  the  stock.  That,  however,  permits  of  another  explanation 
in  the  gluten,  stalk  and  other  substances  that  are  furnished  by  the 
seed  itself. 

Then  the  experiment  was  varied.  To  the  sand  were  added  cer- 
tain mineraF  acids  prepared  in  the  laboratory.  Seeds  of  the  same 
plants  were  deposited  in  the  artificial  soil  so  prepared,  and  they 
grew  luxuriantly.  Barley,  oats  and  other  grains  sent  up  strong 
stalks,  blossomed,  and  yielded  ripe  and  perfect  seeds.  The  differ- 


SECOND    ANNUAL   SESSION. 


ence  in  the  first  and  second  experiment  illustrates  completely  the 
difference  between  negligent  farming  in  exhausted  soils  and  scien- 
tific agriculture. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  seed  itself  supplies  some  of  the 
ingredients  of  nutrition,  but  necessarily  in  a  very  limited  quantity. 
The  germinal  principle  in  a  grain  of  wheat,  for  example,  constitutes 
only  a  minute  part  of  its  contents.  The  rest  consists  of  starch,  glu- 
ten and  certain  mineral  substances,  and  so  the  young  plant,  like  the 
young  animal,  in  the  first  stages  of  its  growth  is  fed  by  its  mother. 
The  nutriment  that  is  thus  provided  is  just  sufficient  to  sustain  it 
until  its  organs  are  so  far  developed  as  to  enable  it  to  procure  its 
own  food.  It  sends  its  roots  downward,  extends  its  tender  stalk  up- 
ward, throws  out  its  delicate  leaflets,  and  thereafter  must  derive  its 
sustenance  from  the  earth  and  air. 

The  latter  process  is  not  within  the  limits  of  our  subject.  Carbon, 
which  in  quantity  is  the  most  important  constituent  of  the  plant,  is 
largely  derived  from  the  atmosphere.  The  tiny  leaflets  absorb  car- 
bonic acid,  decompose  it,  retain  the  carbon  and  surrender  the  oxv- 
gen.  The  water  or  sap  conveyed  through  the  infinitesimal  cap- 
illaries of  the  plant  acts  upon  the  carbon,  and  the  two  build  the  cell- 
ulose tissue  that  constitutes  the  stalk.  In  the  meantime  the  plant  is 
sending  its  roots  into  the  earth  in  search  of  the  other  food  that  is 
necessary  to  its  growth,  in  other  words,  if  our  longitude  will  furnish 
an  excuse  for  its  expression,  "  rustling  for  grub." 

This  brings  us  to  the  office  of  irrigation  in  the  cultivation  of 
crops.  The  necessity  of  water  commences  with  the  first  beginning 
of  growth  and  continues  without  ceasing  to  the  full  maturity  of  the 
seeds.  The  seed  must  be  thoroughly  saturated  before  germination 
can  commence.  Then  during  the  period  when  the  young  plant  is 
obliged  to  live  upon  the  store  of  nutrients  contained  in  the  seed,  it  is 
water  that  conveys  them  to  the  newly  developed  parts.  This  func- 
tion is  continued'after  the  plant  begins  to  draw  its  supplv  of  nitro- 
gen compounds  and  mineral  substances  from  the  soil,  a  process 
which,  as  we  shall  see,  depends  in  other  respects  upon  the  assistance 
of  water.  The  proportion  of  water  in  all  vegetables  is  very 
large,  from  80  per  cent,  in  most  cereals  to  96  per  cent,  in  turnips. 
Within  the  period  of  active  growth  of  a  stalk  of  wheat  or  barley,  it 
requires  the  passage  through  it  of  not  less  than  a  gallon  of  water. 
The  earth  is  not  profligate  with  its  store  of  moisture;  it  gives  it  up 
to  the  plant  rather  grudgingly,  and  when  it  is  reduced  to  less  than 
10  per  cent,  it  withholds  it  altogether.  Hence  the  adjacent  ground 
must  be  kept  supplied  with  water,  or  the  growth  of  the  crop  will  be 
wholly  arrested. 

If  we  burn  i,coo  pounds  of  wheat  straw  and  grain,  it  will  leave 
20  pounds  of  ash;  barley,  30  pounds;  oats,  40  pounds;  rye,  20  pounds, 
and  corn,  15  pounds.  This  ash  represents  the  proportion  of  inor- 
ganic, or  mineral,  matter  that  is  contained  in  the  plants  mentioned 
respectively.  This  proportion  must  be  supplied  or  the  plant  cannot 
thrive,  and  water  in  its  mechanical  and  chemical  action  is  the  chief 
factor  in  providing  it.  When  the  rainfall  is  abundant  and  seasonal, 
its  meets  some,  but  not  all,  of  these  requirements.  When  it  is  de- 
ficient they  must  be  provided  for  by  irrigation.  It  may  be  deserving 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION. 


of  remark,  in  this  connection,  that  the  water  which  descends  from 
the  clouds  becomes  aerated  in  its  passage  through  the  air,  and 
yields  needed  stores  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  but  that  is  the  extent 
of  its  contributions.  On  the  other  hand,  the  water  that  is  brought 
upon  the  field  in  ditches,  perhaps  from  great  distances,  not  only  sup- 
plies the  constituents  of  the  atmosphere  but  also  levies  tribute  upon 
the  soil  over  which  it  passes,  and  pours  rich  treasure  upon  the  grow- 
ing crop. 

We  have  mentioned  the  proportion  of  inorganic  matter  that  en- 
ters into  the  composition  of  ordinary  cereals.  It  consists  of  silica, 
which  is  the  chemical  name  for  pure  flint,  quartz,  rock  crystal,  silic- 
ious  sand  and  sandstones,  aluminia,  oxide  of  iron,  oxide  of  mangan- 
ese, sulphur,  chlorides  of  potassium,  sodium,  calcium  and  magne- 
sium, the  carbonates,  sulphates  and  phosphates  of-  soda,  lime  and 
magnesia  and  some  other  substances.  These  are  ingredients  of 
most  soils  before  their  cultivation  begins,  but  in  that  state  water  is 
the  agent  through  which  they  are  fed  to  the  growing  plant.  It  is 
clear  that  in  their  natural  state  they  could  not  be  taken  up  and  dis- 
tributed through  the  delicate  organs  of  the  stalk  and  leaves;  that 
can  only  be  effected  through  the  medium  of  an  extremely  weak 
aqueous  solution.  With  every  crop  taken  from  a  field,  there  is  a 
reduction  of  the  mineral  contents  of  the  soil,  until  it  inevitably  oc- 
curs that  in  time  they  are  exhausted,  unless  they  are  restored  by  the 
application  of  fertilizers'  In  regions  where  farmers  depend  upon 
natural  rainfall  this  treatment  cannot  be  deferred  after  the  second 
year  of  croppfng  without  a  sensible  reduction  in  the  yield.  Such  is 
not  the  case  with  lands  that  are  supplied  with  moisture  by  irrigation. 
They  have  been  known  to  produce  undiminished  crops  for  years 
without  the  use  of  manure  or  other  fertilizers. 

This  illustrates  crudely  the  advantage  of  agriculture  by  means 
of  the  artificial  appliance  of  .water  over  that  which  depends  upon 
the  contributions  01  the  clouds,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  for- 
mer system  justifies  profligacy  to  the  extent  of  robbing  the  soil  of 
what  nature  has  provided"  for  its  enrichment.  Phosphorus,  com- 
monly in  the  form  of  phosphate  of  lime,  is  an  indispensable  element 
of  plant  growth,  and  the  chief  source  of  supply  is  the  bones  of  ani- 
mals. While  traveling  through  the  state  last  fall  I  saw  at  numerous 
points  large  heaps  of  the  remains  of  buffaloes  piled  up  by  the  rail- 
way tracks  awaiting  shipment  to  the  east,  and  it  seemed  to  me  a 
wretched  scheme  of  money-making.  In  the  course  of  time  the  de- 
pletion of  the  phosphates  in  our  soil  will  be  found  more  difficult  to 
remedy  than  and  other  source  of  impoverishment,  and  we  should 
preserve  such  stores  as  we  have  with  jealous  prudence. 

We  have  seen  that  the  carbon  which  enters  so  largely  into  the 
composition  of  vegetables  is  partly  absorbed  from  the  air.  In  most 
plants,  and  under'ordinary  conditions,  about  an  equal  portion  is  ex- 
tracted from  the  earth.  It  is  there  stored  in  the  form  of  humus, 
which  consists  of  decayed  vegetable  matter.  Here  there  is  a  very 
subtle  chemistry  in  operation,  in  which  water  is  the  chief  agent.  The 
stubble  or  straw  left  upon  a  field  of  grain  contributes  something 
toward  furnishing  food  for  new  generations.  The  carbon  in  the 
dead  plant  in  the  process  of  decay  must  reunite  with  the  oxygen  of 


14  SKCOND    ANNUAL    SKSS1OX, 

the  air,  to  form  carbonic  acid.  The  office  of  water  is  here  twofold. 
The  presence  of  water  is  an  essential  condition  to  the  decomposition 
of  vegetable  matter.  When  the  decay  has  proceeded  so  far  that 
carbonic  acid  is  formed,  it  is  water  that  conveys  it  to  the  thirsting 
mouths  of  the  rootlets  and  so  through  the  various  organs  of  the 
growing  plant.  Decay  is  a  gradual  process,  and  requires,  among 
other  things,  the  rays  of  a  summer  sun.  So  the  supply  of  carbon 
that  is  extracted  from  the  earth  is  kept  up  during  the  season  of 
growth,  but  only  upon  the  condition  that  there  shall  be  a  continuous 
provision  of  moisture  in  the  circumjacent  earth.  In  shoit,  the  con- 
stituents that  enter  into  the  structure  of  vegetation  are  or  t\vo  kinds 
organic  and  inorganic.  Neither  can  be  provided  in  a  form  that 
admits  of  assimilation  without  the  agency  of  water,  and  its  action 
must  be  timely.  A  parched  field  involves  a  blighted  crop.  It  is  the 
crowning  advantage  of  irrigation  that  it  places  it  in  the  power  of  the 
farmer  to  control  his  water  supply  both  as  to  the  quantity— for  an 
excess  is  harmful-  and  as  to  the  time. 

If  we  go  back  to  the  processes  which  we  have  been  considering 
to  the  very  genesis  of  the  soil,  we  shall  still  find  water  the  most  ef- 
l.cient  factor,  Its  action  in  the  disintegration  of  the  rocks  is  partly 
i«  echnnkal  and  partly  chemical.  Penetrating  the  minute  pores  and 
i>-  erstice^  of  the  granite,  the  expansion  that  results  from  freezing 
fp  its  off  fragments  of  greater  or  less  dimensions.  The  crumbling 
or  these  pieces  is  largely  the  result  of  chemical  agencies.  Water 
containing  carbonic  acid  removes  the  potash  from  the  feldspar  and 
mica  in  the  form  of  carbonate  of  potash,  and  the  saifie  agent  separ- 
ates the  siiicate  of  alumina  and  the  potash.  Thus  the  rock  is  re- 
solved into  the  various  mineral  substances  required  for  the  food  of 
plants,  and  water,  by  its  dynamic  energy,  washes  them  down  from 
the  mountains  into  the  valleys  below.  If  upon  a  thin  layer  of  soil  so 
fo:m<-'d,  seeds  of  the  lower  order  of  plants — lichens,  for  example— be 
deposited,  aided  by  the  kindly  nurture  of  the  air,  they  will  grow  and 
fructify.  Their  decay  will  add  new  elements  to  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  and  in  time  fit  it  to  sustain  a  higher  order  of  plant  life.  Later, 
animals  will  be  attracted  to  the  spot  and  by  their  excrements  and 
remains  contribute  still  other  fertile  ingredients  until  the  soil  be- 
comes fitted  for  the  highest  products.  Such  is,  briefly  and  crudely, 
the  history  of  the  composition  of  soils.  Their  impoverishment  com- 
mences when  they  are  brought  under  cultivation,  their  products  re- 
moved from  the  field  to  serve  as  food  for  animals,  and  they  are  thus 
depleted  of  their  mineral  ingredients  such  as  enter  into  vegetable 
structure. 

The  remark  is  sometimes  heard  that  agriculture  in  this  section 
of  the  Union  can  never  become  the  leading  industry  for  the  reason 
that  so  much  of  our  area  is  occupied  by  mountain  ranges.  The  an- 
swer to  this  that  immediately  suggests  itself  is  that  it  is  of  little  im- 
portance if  one-half  of  our  territory  is  unfit  for  the  plough  so  long  as 
the  other  half  can  produce  twice  the  quantity  of  crops  that  are 
grown  in  more  level  regions.  The  difference  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
our  crops  do  not  depend  alone  upon  the  nourishment  derived  from 
the  fields  that  they  occupy  and  the  sky  above  them.  The  vast  de- 
posits of  snow  in  the  recesses  of  the  mountains  melt  beneath  the 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION. 


rays  of  the  summer  sun.  Their  waters  trickle  in  tiny  rivulets  down 
the  mountain  sides,  unite  in  the  canyons,  and  flow  in  streams  through 
the  valleys.  Thence  they  are  led  by  ditches  upon  new  fields  of 
grain,  every  drop  bearing  gifts  of  nutrition.  If  the  late  lamented 
X.  Bjidler,  as  he  was  struggling  to  build  a  fire  on  an  intensely  cold 
day,  with  the  only  fuel  at  hand,  could  say  with  general  optimism, 
that  he  "felt  sorry  for  the  people  in  the  States,  who  didn't  have  any 
sage  brush,"  surely  our  farmers  can  pity  their  brothers  in  the  east, 
who  carry  on  their  occupation  without  irrigation  ditches.  It  is  by 
these  agencies  that  we  subject  to  the  service  of  mankind  not  alone 
the  acres  that  feel  the  caresses  of  the  plough,  but  the  adjacent  lands, 
even  those  that  lift  their  empurpled  heights  to  win  and  wear  through- 
out the  year  a  diadem  of  snow. 

Upon  hearing  the  above  address,  it  was  moved  by  Nelson  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke  that  the  thanks  of  the  convention  be  tendered  to 
Lieut. -Gov.  Botkin  for  his  very  able  address.  The  vote  was  carried 
unanimously. 

The  president  then  announced  the  next  order  of  business  to  be 
the  discussion  of  House  Bill  No.  24.  The  bill  was  read  by  the  secre- 
tary. It  provided  for  the  division  of  the  state  into  two  general  de- 
partments; the  corporate  authorities  of  both  departments  to  be  vest- 
ed in  a  state  water  commission;  the  two  members  of  each  depart- 
ment to  be  appointed  by  the  governor  to  hold  office  for  two  years; 
each  commissioner  to  receive  $4,000  per  year  salary.  Bonds  to  be 
voted  at  an  election,  to  run  twenty  to  fifty  years  at  not  to  exceed  five 
per  cent,  interest  and  not  to  exceed  a  half  million  dollars  for  the  first 
two  years.  The  commission  to  have  power  to  condemn  canals, 
flumes,  etc.,  fix  the  rate  of  tolls,  fix  a  tax  to  be  collected  sufficient 
with  tolls  to  pay  the  interest  on  bonds,  and  regulate  the  salaries  of 
employes. 

It  was  moved  that  Mr.  Huffman,  author  of  the  bill,  open  the  dis- 
cussion. The  motion  prevailed. 

Mr.  Huffman  said: 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention — I  am  not  here 
as  a  member  of  the  legislature  but  as  a  delegate  from  Custer  county. 
There  are  many  phases  of  this  bill  that  I  know  many  of  you  are  bet- 
ter able  to  discuss  than  I.  There  is,  however,  one  purpose  respect- 
ing the  bill  at  the  outset,  that  I  would  like  to  refer  to  briefly.  Now  it  is 
well  known  to  all  of  you  who  read  the  papers  or  talk  with  your 
neighbors  that  for  a  period  of  eight  years  or  more  no  fireside  or 
hotel  lobby  has  been  for  any  considerable  length  of  time  free  from 
the  sound  of  this  discussion;  and  about  a  year  ago  we  thought  it  was 
crystallized  and  th£t  we  had  agreed;  that  in  most  localities  in  the 
west  private  means  and  private  enterprises  had  about  reached  the 


16  SECOND   ANM    \L    SESSION. 


limit  of  development;  that  some  private  enterprises  were  languish- 
ing but  that  the  people  in  general  were  more  desirous  than  ever  for 
water;  more  desirous  that  our  arid  lands  should  have  the  waters  of 
the  state;  that  \ve  should  have  more  people  to  patronize  our  indus- 
tries. Now  I  cannot  emphasize  that  latter  opinion  better  than  to 
quote  a  few  lines,  which  are  almost  identical  with  the  words  deliv- 
ered by  a  gentleman  who  had  considerate  to  say  at  the  late  conven- 
tion: "The  first  objection  to  the  cession  of  the  arid  lands  is  this, 
that  it  is  in  the  interests  of  monopolists."  Now,  gentlemen,  I  am 
younger  than  you — the  majority  of  you,  but  I  am  not  so  young  as  to 
have  been  in  Montana  and  witnessed  her  growth  for  fourteen  years 
without  thinking  her  mountains  are  to  be  developed  all  alike  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  the  uses  of  land  and  water,  to  the  end  that  higher 
inland  ditches  shall  be  made  possible  to  the  people  than  we  have 
ever  known.  Now,  if  I  understand  where  I  am  in  this  case;  if  I  am 
where  I  think  I  am,  it  is  with  the  •  people,  who  want  more  home- 
makers,  and  that  they  shall  be  able  to  enjoy  the  two  elements  which 
have  been  so  ably  discussed  by  our  friend,  Gov.  Botkin. 

Mr.  Harris  said:  Mr.  Chairman,  do  1  understand  by  this  bill 
that  all  the  property  embraced  in  the  department  of  irrigation  is  to 
be  mortgaged  or  bonded  for  the  purpose  of  building  irrigation 
canals  across  the  government  lands  and  the  lands  embraced  in  this 
section?  As  I  understood  the  bill  as  it  was  read,  I  would  infer  that 
much.  As  that  bill  reads,  it  subjects  all  the  property  of  the  counties 
in  the  department  or  departments  to  pay  the  interest  upon  the  bonds 
or  mortgage  which  may  be  issued  upon  your  county,  upon  your  de- 
partment; and  of  all  the  bills  that  I  ever  saw  or  read,  that  bill  is  the 
height  of  absurdity.  The  guarantee  of  the  state  to  the  people  is  its 
freedom  from  indebtedness.  Of  course  it  is  true  that  before  it  can 
become  a  measure,  or  can  become  enacted,  it  has  to  be  submitted  to 
the  vote  of  the  people,  but  there  will  be  a  great  many  people  to  vote 
upon  that  measure  who  do  not  understand  it.  Every  qualified  voter 
can  vote  upon  that  act,  whether  he  is  a  tax-payer  or  not.  When- 
ever you  create  a  debt  in  a  state  you  have  got  to  manage  in  some 
way  to  discharge  the  obligation,  and  a  blanket  mortgage  is  the 
worst  obligation  imaginable.  1  cannot  believe  a  law  of  that  kind 
will  inure  to  the  good  of  the  people. 

Mr.  Burton — If  1  understand  the  meaning  of  this  bill,  it  is  this: 
The  state  of  Montana  is  to  be  divided  into  two  departments,  and 
then  those  departments  shall  become  the  owners  of  the  waters  with- 
in their  boundaries;  and  those  departments  proceed  as  two  separate 
states,  as  1  understand  it,  which  shall  have  committees  to  buy  all  the 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  17 


present   water  ownership   within    their   respective   boundaries   and 
then  proceed  to  build  irrigation  canals. 

I  believe  I  do  not  mistake  the  meaning  of  the  bill.  Now, 
gentlemen,  irrigation  is  farming,  pure  and  simple;  irrigation  is 
agriculture  and  upon  the  building  of  irrigation  canals  in  this  state  a 
large  portion  of  its  future  must  depend,  and  the  building  of  irrigation 
canals  is  something  that  every  citizen  of  the  state  is  unquestionably 
interested  in.  The  statement  made  that  the  private  enterprises  have 
about  reached  their  height  is  strange.  The  private  enterprise  of  this 
state  will  be  at  its  height  when  the  millennium  comes.  Private  en- 
terprise is  today  ready  to  do  the  work,  ready  to  do  the  work  of 
building  irrigation  canals,  wherever  they  are  needed,  and  wherever 
anybody  can  show  that  they  are  needed.  I  am  simply  giving  my 
view,  and  if  you  do  not  adopt  it  I  am  not  going  to  be  hurt,  and  if 
you  do  adopt  it  I  am  not  going  to  be  hurt.  But  gentlemen,  to  be 
serious  now,  there  are  two  different  theories  which  have  been  pro- 
mulgated in  this  world  in  reference  to  government;  one  of  them  is 
old  and  has  been  in  operation  for  many  centuries,  and  that  is  that 
governments  are  creatures  of  the  people;  there  has  grown  up  in  the 
last  few  years,  I  may  say,  this  thought,  that  the  people  are  the 
creatures  of  the  government.  Now,  this  bill  is  drawn  up  upon  this 
new  idea.  Water  is  the  given  heritage  of  everybody  who  has  to  have 
it.  Water  is  simply  a  fertilizer  and  is  something  that  is  needed  to 
fertilize  the  land.  We  cannot  get  along  without  bread  in  this 
country,  can  we?  Now,  why  not  include  in  his  bill,  to  issue  bonds 
and  build  mills  to  furnish  the  people  bread,  and  let  the  profits  of  the 
mill  business  go  into  the  treasury  of  the  state.  Then  clothing  is 
another  thing  that  people  must  have  in  this  country.  Then  why  not 
sell  bonds  and  go  into  the  wool  business  and  sell  the  people  their 
clothing.  Every  argument  in  behalf  of  that  bill  applies  in  equal 
force  in  the  flour  and  sheep  business,  in  favor  of  this  state  going  into 
the  wool  business  or  the  flouring  mill  business,  and  as  for  that  mat- 
ter any  other  business  that  the  people  are  engaged  in  today.  It  is 
voluminous;  it  is  something  sublime,  but  the  question  is,  is  it 
practical?  I  am  not  a  prophet,  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet,  but  if  this 
bill  should  become  a  law  there  will  be  no  irrigation  canals  built  in 
this  state.  Will  any  man  vote  a  tax  upon  himself?  Will  the  men 
all  over  this  state  who  do  not  want  to  see  the  land  taken  up  vote  a 
tax  upon  their  herds  and  flocks?  It  is  the  worst  legislation  that  I 
ever  saw  offered  to  an  intelligent  people  to  adopt.  Look  at  this  mat- 
ter as  a  business  proposition.  Is  the  state  of  Montana  ready  to  re- 
verse the  training  and  theory  that  has  come  down  to  us,  hoary  with 


18  SECOND   ANNUAL    SESSION. 


age?  Are  they  willing  to  reverse  that  and  to  step  into  building, 
which  will  take  twenty  millions  of  money?  Are  they  ready  to  place 
their  names  to  bonds  and  mortgages  to  that  amount? 

Now,  is  there  any  gentleman  anywhere  that  would  say  that  if  I 
or  any  one  were  to  construct  an  irrigation  canal  for  a  certain  amount 
of  water  and  thus  enhance  the  value  of  my  land,  would  it  be  right  for 
the  state  to  take  away  my  property  which  my  money  has  created? 
Suppose  you  don't  want  to  sell  your  160  inches  of  water.  They  don't 
want  to  sell  that.  Their  land  is  valueless  without  the  water.  Now, 
the  state  will  take  away  the  water  from  that  man,  leaving  him  with 
his  land  which  is  worth  perhaps  $1.25  or  $1.50  per  acre. 

Mr.  Nelson  said: 

ivlr.  Chairman— Before  I  address  myself  directly  to  the  consider- 
ing of  this  bill,  I  will  endeavor  to  answer  some  of  the  statements  that 
have  been  made  by  Mr.  Harris,  and  also  by  Mr.  Burton.  I  think 
that  the  statement  of  Mr.  Harris,  or  rather  his  objection  to  this  bill, 
refers  especially  to  that  clause  which  contemplates  the  taxing  of  the 
entire  population  within  a  certain  district  to  support  the  irrigation 
work  to  be  built  in  that  district.  I  think  that  objection  answers 
itself.  Certainly  that  gentleman  is  aware  that  there  is  issued  bonds 
for  all  sorts  of  things.  The  only  question  is  whether  it  is  worth  while 
to  issue  bonds  for  the  irrigation  scheme,  or  merelv  vote  that  the 
bonds  are  issued,  because  we  are  issuing  bonds  all  the  time.  The 
business  of  this  country,  as  we  know,  is  largely  done  upon  credit  all 
the  way  through.  That  certainly  is  no  objection  to  the  bill.  I 
certainly  do  not  think  that  my  friend  Mr.  Burton,  would  so  presume 
upon  the  intelligence  of  this  audience,  consisting  not  only  of  the  ir- 
rigation convention,  but  of  a  very  respectable  convention  of  the 
house,  so  far  as  to  stand  up  here,  and  having  avowed  himself  an  in- 
dividual of  the  corporation  interested  in  this  very  scheme,  to  then 
oppose  a  measure  by  his  language,  and  by  his  skilled  oratory,  which 
if  adopted  would  enable  them  to  do  just  what  they  say  they  are  glad 
to  do. 

He  was  addressing  himself  to  the  general  provisions  of  the  bill. 
I  do  not  think  he  said  they  would  be  very  glad  to  sell  out.  Now, 
gentlemen,  that  is  pretty  thin.  Isn't  that  too  thin?  I  cannot  take  it 
in  now.  A  corporation  opposing  a  measure  which  would  enable 
them  to  do  something  which  they  would  be  glad  to  do.  We  cannot 
believe  that  corporations  are  of  that  class.  He  said  in  the  first  place 
that  private  enterprise  in  this  matter  would  be  at  its  hejght  when 
the  millenium  comes.  It  will  stop  pretty  short  of  the  millenium.  It 
will  stop  when  the  control  of  the  land  of  the  country  is  with  the 
government.  That  will  be  considerably  this  side  of  the  millennium. 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  19 


[Reads.]  Mr.  Powels's  theory  is  that  they  get  the  canals  too  far 
down  the  river.  Hearn  and  Carr  control  400,000  acres  of  land.  It 
is  not  to  supply  the  people  with  water;  it  is  to  get  the  land.  (Mr. 
Harris  states  that  the  state  of  California  has  a  more  humid  climate 
than  Montana.) 

We  must  all  the  time  take  into  consideration  all  those  different 
things  in  th:s  question.  Mr.  Burton  said  another  thing.  "Will  any 
sane  man  vote  for  a  tax  which  doesn't  interest  him  directly?"  I 
think  it  would  be  a  very  short  sighted  man  who  would  not.  I  do  not 
know  why  I  should  not  pay  a  tax  for  something  by  which  I  am  bene- 
fitted  indirectly.  I  claim  that  the  irrigation  of  these  lands  will  in- 
increase  the  products  of  the  soil,  i  have  got  to  eat;  I  have  got  to 
buy  those  products,  and  if  by  increasing  the  products  of  the  soil  I 
am  enabled  to  buy  my  provisions  cheaper  than  before;  I  am  bene- 
fitted  in  an  indirect  way.  I  find  in  article  3  section  15  of  the  statutes 
of  Montana,  the  organic  law  of  this  great  commonwealth.  [Reads 
section  15.]  The  reason  why  I  read  this  and  the  reason  why  I  wish 
these  words  to  be  foundation  of  what  I  have  already  said  and  what  I 
shall  say  hereafter,  is  because  of  the  association  in  which  I  find  these 
words.  These  words  I  find  to  be  part  of  what  is  entitled  "A  Declara- 
tion of  Rights,"  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Montana.  Now, 
gentlemen  of  the  Legislature,  it  certainly  is  committed  to  you  to 
preserve  and  conserve  all  the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  State  of 
Montana.  While  there  is  objections  to  legislation  upon  some  of 
these  facts,  it  certainly  falls  upon  you  to  preserve  these  rights  that 
are  declared  to  be  of  public  use.  Now  there  are  certain  ways  in 
which  to  do  it.  A  settler  comes  and  picks  out  his  place  of  residence, 
a  place  for  his  home,  if  he  can  find  such  to  get  out  from  the  storm. 
A  little  water  is  needed  by  this  man  for  his  40, 80  or  160  acre  farm.  To 
supply  water  to  this  individual  or  to  those  settlers  is  the  duty  of  the 
State,  and  if  I  am  right  in  law,  any  special  interest,  any  advantage,  I 
find  this  declares  to  be  incumbent  upon  the  legislative  body  of  this 
State,  in  order  to  carry  out  the  individual  purpose  of  this  constitu- 
tion. Now,  the  question  is,  what  does  Montana  most  need  today? 
As  in  the  answer  to  the  old  query,  "What  constitutes  a  State?"  Men, 
high-minded,  noble  men.  That  is  what  we  want  in  this  thing.  I 
say,  in  regard  to  this  matter,  what  we  need  in  Montana  is  an  increase 
in  population.  We  constantly  see  it  in  the  public  press,  and  the  in- 
ducements held  out  by  the  railroad  company  induces  people  to  pass 
through  our  state  every  year  to  the  Pacific  coast  because  they  can- 
not find  homes  here.  Forty  million  acres  of  arid  land.  But  here  is 
the  point  gentlemen— those  men  whom  we  want  here  in  this  State 


20  SECOND   ANNUAL    SESSION. 

are  the  farmers  who  will  buy  those  farms  that  by  these  irrigation 
works  have  been  improved — who  will  establish  their  homes  here.  It 
was  said  today  that  we  want  more  consumers.  Those  men  will  in- 
evitably be  consumers  and  they  will  benefit  men  like  myself  as  well 
as  themselves.  1  do  want  to  have  more  farmers  in  this  State,  and  I 
want  the  lands  improved.  We  want  men  here  who  will  come  out 
and  by  their  presence  and  activity  increase  the  industries.  Wherever 
there  is  gold  and  silver  in  the  mountains  capital  is  bound  to  come, 
but  what  we  want  in  this  State  is  men,  and  we  cannot  have  them  un- 
less there  is  some  inducements  offered. 

Now  to  this  bill  directly  and  then  I  am  done.  If  I  am  right  in  my 
premise,  the  premise  that  it  is  the  business  of  the  Legislature,  so  far 
as  this  business  is  concerned  to  so  legislate,  especially  if  it  is  their 
duty,  then  some  such  measure  should  be  passed.  Mr.  Burton  said 
he  was  not  a  prophet  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet,  but  that  if  this  bill 
passed  there  would  not  be  any  irrigation  works  made  in  Montana. 
I  think  the  gentleman  here  is  making  the  same  mistake.  Isn't  whole- 
sale cheaper  than  retail?  the  small  irrigation  cost  more  than  large 
irrigation  would? 

When  a  measure  of  this  kind  is  brought  up  and  people  accuse 
some  others  of  having  some  sinister  motive,  mark  those  people,  I 
am  always  suspicious  of  them. 

Mr.  Harris:  I  would  like  to  answer  Mr.  Nelson's  remarks.  He 
seems  to  have  a  great  fear.  He  seems  to  place  Montana  in  the  same 
climate  as  the  State  of  California  and  the  south.  Today  our  State  is 
well  supplied  with  cereals.  Its  supply  is  nearly  equal  to  its  consump- 
tion. Just  as  soon  as  it  becomes  profitable  for  the  farmers  to  raise 
cereals,  then  water  will  be  taken  from  our  rivers  and  the  lands  re- 
claimed whenever  the  enterprise  warrants;  but  as  for  the  State  tak- 
ing hold  of  this  matter  in  a  bill  of  this  kind,  it  is  foolish.  Now  to 
show  you  the  weakness  of  the  apprehension  of  the  parties  who  drew 
up  this  bill,  I  will  draw  your  attention  to  this  part  of  it.  The  gover- 
nor provided  that  prior  to  the  organizing  of  a  State  commission,  the 
governor  shall  be  vested  with  the  corporate  organizing  as  aforesaid, 
for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  constitutionality  of  this  act.  Our  State 
resolving  itself  into  a  large  corporate  body,  deems  that  bill  is  liable 
not  to  be  constitutional.  For  myself  I  will  say  that  it  is  not  con- 
stitutional, that  the  state  has  no  right  to  go  into  a  corporation  of  this 
kind.  As  long  as  we  have  corporation  laws  we  must  expect,  as  long 
as  they  are,  we  must  expect  special  privileges  used  by  those  corpora- 
tions. Corporations  are  large  bodies  without  souls.  As  for  this 
measure,  you  are  creating  a  corporation  out  of  the  whole  state. 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  21 

Mr.  Carney  said: 

Mr.  Chairman:  About  a  year  ago  now,  1  had  the  honor  of  at- 
tending a  convention  of  this  kind  in  this  city,  known  as  the  Irrigation 
Convention,  and  as  I  understood  the  call  of  this  convention,  it  was  a 
call  upon  the  farmers  of  this  state  to  discuss  the  bill  that  is  now 
pending  before  the  Legislature,  and  I  believe  I  have  the  sentiment 
of  every  farmer  in  this  house  when  I  say  that  I  did  not  come  here  for 
the  purpose  of  hearing  lawyers  discuss  it,  but  they  desire  to  discuss 
it  themselves.  I  have  talked  with  the  gentleman  who  originated  this 
bill  and  I  believe  he  is  honest  and  sincere.  Whether  I  believe  with 
him  or  not,  I  believe  he  is  honest  in  his  theory,  and  I  would  further 
say  that  those  men  who  are  building  canals  and  tilling  the  soil  are 
more  competent  to  discuss  the  methods  of  building  canals  and 
ditches  than  any  lawyer  that  ever  pleaded  before  a  court.  My  friend, 
Mr.  Nelson,  has  told  you  that  he  wants  to  get  people  in  here  to  settle 
up  this  country  so  that  he  could  buy  the  products  of  the  soil  cheaper 
than  he  does  now.  I  appeal  to  you  farmers  in  this  country  if  you 
can  sell  your  products  cheaper  than  you  have  in  the  last  several 
years.  You  cannot  do  it  and  live.  Speaking  for  myself,  I  have  built 
a  canal  in  company  with  five  others,  and  we  own  it  and  use  the  water 
out  of  it  ourselves  and  we  would  sooner  pay  double  the  expense  of 
keeping  up  that  canal  and  have  the  control  of  the  water  than  be  fol- 
lowing around  a  water  commissioner  that  gets  a  salary  of  $4,000  a 
year,  and  asking  him  when  it  would  come  my  turn  to  get  water. 
While  there  are  some  good  points  in  the  bill,  yet  we  have  got  to 
judge  the  bill  as  a  whole.  We  must  take  the  proposition  as  it  pre- 
sents itself,  and  I  would  tonight  sit  here  until  tomorrow  morning  and 
listen  to  men  who  are  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil,  and  men  who  are 
engaged  in  building  ditches,  but  I  say  that  I  wouMn't  spend  much 
time  listening  to  lawyers  discuss  it,  for  if  I  want  to  go  into  court  I 
will  hire  a  lawyer. 

Mr.  Oliver  said: 

Mr.  Chairman:  lam  nothing  but  a  common  farmer,  but  it  is 
strange  to  me  that  a  gentleman  would  get  up  here  and  give  us  a 
great  long  talk,  yet  he  deals  with  no  facts  whatever.  He  starts  out 
with  the  broad  assertion  that  eastern  capital  would  not  be  brought 
here  to  put  into  irrigation  schemes  unless  they  could  be  assured  15 
per  cent  on  their  investment.  There  are  lots  of  ditches  built  by 
companies  in  Colorado,  Idaho  and  in  Montana,  of  which  he  could  see 
the  results  of  those  men  who  have  invested  their  money  in  those  en- 
terprises, and  nothing  of  that  kind  is  shown.  This  bill  that  is  under 
consideration  is  certainly  one  that  no  man  who  is  a  farmer  that  has 


SKCON'I)    AXXl'AL    SESSION. 


gone  to  work  and  taken   the   water  out  and  acquired  a  right  to  the 
water  of  our  streams,  can  ever  think  of  indorsing. 
Another  speaker  said: 

I  have  only  a  few  words  to  say,  and  that  directly  :n  regard  to 
this  bill.  Our  friend,  Mr.  Nelson,  suggested  that  we  issue  school 
bonds.  We  do.  That  is  to  the  benefit  of  every  person  who  lives  in 
Montana  or  anywhere  else.  These  bonds  are  to  be  given  by  the 
State  of  Montana  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  use  the  ditches  and 
for  no  other  purpose.  Now,  I  have  merely  a  few  words  to  say,  a 
few  points  in  regard  to  the  law  in  California.  The  district  is  com- 
posed of  people  who  are  benefitted,  who  receive  the  benefit  of  the 
water,  and  the  bonds  are  holden  upon  the  lands  only,  not  upon  other 
property.  That  is  not  the  case  with  this.  All  the  property  in  the 
state  of  Montana  is  holden  for  these  bonds.  This  bill  divides  the 
State  of  Montana  into  two  districts.  It  taxes  the  whole  State.  Then 
again  under  this  law  the  taxpayers  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  voters. 
We  can  get  in  a  lot  of  laboring  men  here  who  want  to  get  us  into  an 
immense  indebtedness,  and  we  are  simply  at  their  mercy.  Take  a 
man  who  has  a  private  ditch,  and  if  1  owned  a  private  diteh  I  would 
be  in  favor  of  the  ditch.  I  think,  furthermore,  that  it  is  against  the 
constitution  of  the  Slate.  What  we  need  in  this  State  is  a  law  by 
which  we  can  build  and  bond  ditches. 
Mr.  Alderson: 

The  question  was  raised  in  regard  to  taxation.  Of  course  if  the 
bill  should  pass  and  the  case  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  Montana 
and  the  bonds  should  be  voted,  provision  has  to  be  made  for  the  pay- 
ment  of  the  bonds,  as  I  understand  it,  and  provision  would  have  to 
be  made  for  redeeming  those  bonds  on  maturity.  The  proposition  is 
now  to  taxation  ^  the  property  of  the  State.  Your  law  books  and 
merchandise  of  every  description  is  to  be  made  assessable  to  pay  the 
interest  of  those  bonds.  That  is  one  point.  I  cannot  see  where  the 
justice  would  be  of  taxing  those  persons  who  are  already  provided 
with  water.  I  cannot  see  the  benefit  of  adding  an  additional  amount 
of  tax  to  those  men.  It  would  have  a  tendency  to  increase  popula- 
tion by  offering  inducements  in  some  sense  to  home  seekers  to  re- 
claim these  arid  lands,  and  thus  increase  the  products  of  the  land  of 
Montanan,  which  might  or  might  not  find  a  market  here.  Another 
point  I  see  about  this  bill,  not  but  that  every  feature  is  dangerous. 
It  comes  up  before  the  people  every  two  years  and  is  an  inducement 
to  the  laboring  men  and  the  men  who  want  to  vote,  and  they  think 
it  is  going  to  open  "out  a  great  avenue  of  labor  and  furnish  employ- 
ment to  hundreds  of  thousands.  It  will  present  that  inducement  for 


STATE    IRRIGATION  CONVENTION.  23 


their  votes,  and  especially  that  portion  of  the  population  that  con- 
trols elections  in  political  matters,  and  they  say,  let  us  go  and  vote 
those  bonds  and  after  the  good  times  we  can  go  to  some  other  place 
and  let  the  taxpayers  take  care  of  themselves.  Gentlemen,  I  am 
done  for  the  present. 

W.  F.  Parker: 

Mr.  Chairman:  I  felt  some  little  hesitancy  about  saying  any- 
thing here  this  evening,  but  as  this  subject  has  drifted  some 
beyond  the  discussion  of  this  bill  and  has  involved  to  some  extent 
the  matter  of  discussion  as  to  whether  the  State  of  Montana  should 
attempt  to  control  the  water  by  a  general  provision  of  law,  I  would 
ike  to  hear  from  these  farmers  upon  one  subject  which  has  not  been 
spoken  of.  Mr.  .Burton,  in  his  water  right,  takes  up  all  of  the  water 
of  the  Teton.  Now,  is  it  the  determination  of  this  body  and  of  the 
State  of  Montana  that  there  shall  never  be  constructed  above  Mr. 
Burton's  head-gate  a  means  that  shall  conserve  there  the  water  dur- 
ing the  high  portion  to  be  conserved  there  until,  say,  the  months  of 
July  and  August.  Now,  suppose  the  stream  of  the  Teton  shall  carry 
1 0,000- inches  of  water,  Mr.  Burton,  in  filing  his  water  right,  takes 
nearly  all  the  water  of  the  stream,  what  right  have  the  men  or  cor- 
porations to  go  above  Mr.  Burton's  ditches  and  take  the  water?  Mr. 
Burton  will  come  in  and  say  that  he  is  entitled  to  have  20,000 
inches  of  that  water,  if  there  is  20,000  inches.  If  the  men  shall  have 
no  right  to  the  water  that  flows  down  there,  then  you  forever  pro- 
hibit any  person  from  taking  it.  You  give  to  Mr.  Burton  a  water 
right  that  is  very  valueable.  It  is  this  subject  of  building  reservoirs 
for  holding  water  when  it  is  going  to  waste  until  such  a  time  when  it 
shall  become  necessary  in  the  cultivation  of  crops.  I  simply  make 
this  as  a  suggestion,  and  I  would  like  to  hear  from  the  farmers  of 
this  district,  if  Mr.  Burton  would  have  more  right  than  he  used.  If 
Mr.  Burton  is  entitled  to  say,  10,000  inches  of  water,  and  he  has  filed 
a  water  sight  which  says  he  shall  have  10,000  inches  of  water  from 
the  stream  and  somebody  goes  above  him  and  by  means  of  reservoirs 
has  a  water  right  to  his  land,  can  Mr.  Burton  claim  his  10,000 
inches  of  water? 

Mr.  Harris: 

Is  that  bill  up  here  tonight  for  passage  by  this  body?  I  would 
like  to  put  this  motion,  that  this  bill  is  not  taken  into  the  legislative 
assembly  of  the  State  of  Montana. 

Mr.  Myers: 

I  would  suggest  that  the  matter  of  postponing  this  bill  be  defer- 
red until  tomorrow  morning.  I  think  it  is  very  evident  what  the 


24  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

sentiment  of  this  body  is.  I  presume  that  the  majority  of  them  are 
delegates  to  the  irrigation  convention,  and  I  think  it  should  not  be 
acted  upon  tonight.  I  think  that  we  never  will  have  any  use  for  it 
and  that  this  convention  will  be  very  apt  to  think  that  it  does  not 
want  it,  yet  I  deem  that  action  should  not  be  taken  until  tomorrow. 
I  move  then  that  the  discussion  be  deferred.  The  motion  prevailed. 
The  convention  adjourned  till  10:30  a.  m.  Friday. 

FRIDAY     MORNING. 

The  convention  met   at  10:30  a.  m.     A  communication  from  E. 
G.  Brooke  was  referred  to  the   committee   on  irrigation  law.     It  was 
moved  and  carried  that  the  above  committee  present  a  written  report. 
Reports  from  the    various    counties  upon    the   subject  of  irriga- 
tion were  then  heard.     [Reports  are  printed  in  the  appendix.] 
The  committee  upon  irrigation  law  reported  as  follows: 
Resolved,  That   this   Convention  is   opposed  to  any  legislation 
at  the  present    time,   looking   to    the    building  of   irrigation  canals, 
ditches  or  reservoirs   by   the   State  from   the  revenues   of  the  State 
arising  from  taxation.    'That  we  oppose  the   issuance  of  bonds  upon 
the  credit  of  the  State  in    any    form    for   construction    of   irrigation 
works. 

The  majority  of  your  committee  recommend  that  House  bill  No. 
24  be  not  passed. 

JOHN  M.  ROIUXSON, 
I).  M.  IH-RFKK, 
ALFRED  MYKKS. 
P.  CARNEY, 

W.  H.  SUTHERLIN. 

Z.  T.  BURTON, 
\\  .  R.  GILBERT, 
E.  RYAN. 

Your  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  there  is  further  need  of 
legislation  on  irrigation  and  water  right  laws  and  ask  that  they  be 
granted  time  in  which  to  draft  a  bill  covering  their  views  for  discus- 
sion by  this  convention. 

A.  H.  NELSON,  Chairman. 

The  report  was  discussed  by  Z.  T.  Burton  of  Choteau,  W.  W. 
Alderson,  B.  F.  Shuart  and  others,  in  favor  of  the  majority  report 
and  by  A.  Nelson  in  favor  of  the  minority  report.  The  majority  re- 
port was  adopted. 

Recess  was  then  taken  until  noon. 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  25 


FRIDAY     AFTERNOON. 

The  convention  met  at  2  p.  m. 

It  was  moved  that  all  speeches  hereafter  made  should  be  limited 
to  five  minutes  and  that  no  person  should  speak  twice  on  the  same 
subject  save  with  the  consent  of  the  convention. 

C.  H.  Wright,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  constitution  and 
by-laws,  reported.  The  rules  were  read  by  sections,  amended  and 
adopted  by  sections,  and  adopted  as  a  whole. 

A  resolution  was  offered  by  W.  M.  Oliver,  reading  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  legislative  assembly  of  Montana  be  respect- 
fully requested  to  enact  a  law  substantially  as  follows,  to-wit: 

Sec.  i.  That  the  land  commissioner  be  and  is  hereby  authorized 
and  requested  to  select  and  designate,  along  the  streams  and  ravines 
of  this  state,  proper  sites  for  reservoirs,  and  that  he  shall  make  re- 
port of  his  selections  to  the  governor  of  this  state  with  a  clear  de- 
scription of  the  same  and  that  the  gover  :Or  shall  make  a  report  of 
the  same  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior  of  the  United  States,  re- 
questing and  recommending  that  the  sites  so  sele:ted  be  duly  re- 
served from  sale  or  settlement  for  the  use  of  the  state  of  Montana. 

Sec.  2.  That  said  commissioner  is  hereby  authorized,  under  the 
direction  of  the  governor,  to  employ  proper  assistants  to  aid  him  in 
making  such  selections. 

Sec.  3.  That  immediately  upon  the  adoption  of  this  act,  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  governor  to  send  a  duly  authenticated  copy  to  the 
secretary  of  the  interior  with  a  request  for  proper  correspondence 
in  regard  to  this  matter  and  that  the  said  secretary  may  have  a  full 
and  respectful  understanding  of  the  subject,  and  asking  his  co-oper- 
ation with  the  state  of  Montana  in  this  all-important  step  towards 
providing  for  the  storage  of  the  waters  of  the  state  for  the  irrigation 
of  our  arid  lands. 

Resolution .  were  offered  by  W.  W.  Alderson,  B.  F.  Shuart  and 
Fred  Whiteside,  and  all  wer.  referred  to  the  committee  upon  irriga- 
tion law. 

It  was  moved  that  the  election  of  officers  be  the  order  of  busi- 
ness after  the  report  of  the  committee  on  legislation  at  the  evening 
session.  The  motion  prevailed. 

A  motion  to  appoint  a  committee  to  memorialize  congress  in  the 
interests  of  irrigation  was  lost. 

A  recess  was  then  taken  till  7:30  in  the  evening. 


26  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 


FRIDAY   EVENING. 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  at  7:45. 

President  Rolfe-  The  first  order  of  business  is  the  report  of  the 
committee  on  legislation. 

Mr.  Nelson,  chairman  of  the  committee — Your  committee  rec- 
ommend that  the  several  resolutions  referred  to  it  be  laid  upon  the 
table,  with  the  exception  of  two  of  them,  which  should  be  adopted  as 
expressing  the  sentiment  of  this  convention  upon  the  subject  ap- 
pearing in  the  resolution. 

The  resolution  of  W.  M.  Oliver  was  then  read  and  placed  in  the 
custody  of  the  secretary  of  the  convention. 

The  committee 'on  credentials  said: 

Before  proceeding  further,  I  desire  to  have  added  to  the  list  of 
delegates  from  Lewis  and  Clarke  county,  the  name  of  Senator  W.  F. 
Sanders,  who  has  honored  us  with  his  presence  here  this  evening. 

By  unanimous  consent  of  the  convention  the  name  was  placed 
upon  the  roll  of  delegates. 

The  resolution  was  then  taken  up.  Mr.  Nelson  having  stated 
in  making  his  report  that  the  first  resolution  read  had  received  the 
adoption  of  all  members  of  the  committee  and  that  to  the  second  a 
minority  had  dissented,  the  following  remark  was  called  forth: 

Mr.  President:  Before  taking  up  the  resolution  which  the  whole 
committee  has  not  adopted,  would  it  not  be  better  to  take  up  the 
resolution  which  the  whole  committee  has  adopted? 

President — The  committee  has  reported  only  one  resolution. 

Senator  Sanders — Mr.  President:  I  never  heard  that  resolution 
before  now,  but  I  would  like  to  inquire  of  the  chairman,  who  is  a 
lawyer  and  therefore  not  entitled  to  say  much  in  this  convention, 
what  he  thinks  of  the  proposition  that  the  state  of  Montana  owns 
these  waters  and  is  entitled  to  control  them,  and  that  it  is  not  in  the 
situation  that  it  was  before  we  were  admitted  as  a  state,  when  the 
United  States  had  supreme  authority  over  every  stream  and  could 
do  with  it  as  it  chose.  Not  only  have  we  now  become  independent 
of  the  United  States  in  some  things,  but  with  respect  to  those  things 
that  appertain  to  our  sovereignty,  supreme  over  the  United  States. 
Of  course  I  understand  that  the  United  States  has  control  of  all 
waters  that  are  navigable  as  waters,  and  in  respect  of  the  land  which 
they  own  they  have  a  proprietory  control  of  so  much  of  the  water  as 
is  land;  but  the  state  also  owns  land  along  those  streams,  and  I 
think  the  resolution  rather  attributes  to  the  United  States  a  little 
more  authority  over  those  streams  than  it  actually  has,  and  until  the 


STATE   IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  27 

United  States  asserts  authority  as  the  owner  of  land,  we  have  con- 
trol of  it,  and  I  don't  know  but  we  have  anyway. 

Delegate  from  Silver  Bow-  -From  Silver  Bow  county,  I  desire  to 
report  the  names  of  Lee  Mantle,  George  Irvine  and  John  Caplice,  to 
be  enrolled  as  members  of  the  convention  from  Silver  Bow. 

No  objection  being  offered,  the  gentlemen's  names  were  placed 
upon  the  roll. 

In  response  to  a  call  for  Sanders,  that  gentleman  said: 

I  am  glad  that  this  subject  is  open  for  discussion,  because  it 
gives  me  an  opportunity  to  express  my  views  on  the  proposition.  I 
will  say  first,  however,  that  at  the  former  session  of  this  convention 
my  general  idea  has  not  been  the  idea  of  this  convention.  My  idea 
and  understanding  has  been  that  by  the  enabling  act  which  trans- 
ferred us  from  a  territorial  condition  to  that  of  statehood,  this  state 
became  the  owner  of  the  waters — 

A  delegate — Upon  what  proposition  did  it  become  the  owner  of 
them? 

Sanders — Upon  the  general  proposition  I  have  just  been  ad- 
vancing, that  the  state  is  supreme  except  as  to  the  authority  it  has 
surrendered.  Continuing  what  I  have  to  say,  without  desiring  to  an- 
noy or  harass  any  gentleman  present  who  does  not  belong  to  my 
profession  and  therefore  must  be  here  in  the  pursuit  of  truth,  I  think 
that  the  state  is  the  owner  of  these  waters  with  the  possible  modi- 
fication that  the  United  States  owns  the  land  on  the  banks  of  these 
streams,  and  therefore  its  proprietory  ownership  carries  with  it  mod- 
ified control,  which,  as  it  appertains  to  these  lands,  might  be  in  case 
of  a  non-navigable  stream,  supreme  possession.  There  is  a  doctrine 
of  law,  of  riparian  rights;  but  I  understand  the  United  States  has 
abolished  or  modified  riparian  rights.  This  doctrine  of  appropria- 
tion to  which  the  United  States  itself  has  conformed,  is  inconsistent 
therewith.  All  I  want  upon  this  matter  is  that  you  will  not  act  upon 
the  hypothesis  that  we  own  nothing.  It  is  a  wise  judge  that  ampli- 
fies his  own  jurisdiction  and  a  wise  state  that  takes  all  it  can  get  hold 
of.  And  I  believe  with  reference  to  these  waters  that  we  are  entitled 
to  manage  them  as  absolutely  as  if  the  United  States  was  no  more  of 
an  owner  than  my  friend  Mr.  Holter.  In  fact,  I  think  he  owns  about 
as  much  land  as  the  United  States  in  this  country,  and  if  he  doesn't, 
I  know  that  he  is  willing  to,  and  that  therefore  the  lands  of  the 
United  States  are  subject  to  our  authority  somewhat,  so  far  as  it  has 
separated  its  land  from  its  water.  I  don't  recall  the  exact  language 
of  the  resolution,  but  we  proceed  upon  the  hypothesis  that  we  are 
not  aliens,  and  I  don't  blame  anybody  on  account  of  it. 


SECOND    ANNL'AL   SESSION. 


Mr.  Nelson^  If  the  gentleman  will  ask  for  the  reading  of  the 
resolution,  he  will  find  that  it  pertains  solely  to  the  storing  of  the 
water,  as  provided,  in  certain  reservoirs. 

Mr.  Sanders  But  why  should  we  run  off  to  the  secretary  of  the 
interior? 

A  delegate     The  land  belongs  to  him. 

Sen.  Sanders  No;  we  have  a  right  to  control  it,  and  we  have  a 
right  to  occupy  it,  the  United  States  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding, 
and  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  a  pretty  good  idea  to  do  it— we  had 
rather  fight  the  United  States  than  anyone  else  anyhow.  It  don't 
matter  how  Jeff  Davis  came  out,  I  am  satisfied  that  we  would  come 
out  at  the  big  end  of  the  horn. 

The  resolution  was  then  re-read  and  its  adoption  moved. 

Mr.  Holter — Before  this  resolution  is  acted  upon,  I  would  like 
to  inquire  of  Senator  Sanders  if  there  is  not  a  United  States  law  that 
permits  of  parties  building  reservoirs  on  government  land  for 
nothing. 

Senator  Sanders — I  think  that  is  true  that  parties  are  author- 
ized to  occupy  public  lands  for  that  purpose  for  nothing.  That 
would  be  included  under  the  ditch  right.  It  doesn't  matter  how  wide 
the  ditch  is.  A  reservoir  is  a  part  of  the  same  thing  I  have  no  doubt. 

Mr.  Holter — If  that  be  true, what  is  the  use  of  the  resolution?  If 
we  have  that  right  already? 

Senator  Sanders — Now,  that  is  a  more  difficult  question. 

Mr.  Nelson — It  is  this.  The  gentleman  presenting  the  resolu- 
tion desires  that  this  state  shall  require  reservoir  sites  along  the 
banks  of  the  various  streams  in  the  state,  so  that  the  state  itself  may 
own  and  control  reservoirs  for  the  use  and  service  of  the  state  and 
lands  adjacent  thereto,  and  any  individual  or  individuals  within 
their  reach.  The  law  of  March,  1891,  now  gives  to  individuals  or  as- 
sociations of  individuals  the  right  to  go  and  take  reservoir  sites,  and 
upon  a  plat  of  it  being  sent  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  that  land 
is  awarded  to  such  persons.  These  resolutions  look  to  the  acquiring 
of  reservoir  sites  by  the  state  itself,  so  that  the  state  may  control  and 
own  these  waters. 

The  motion  carried,  and  Mr.  Oliver's  resolution  was  thereby 
adopted. 

Mr.  Nelson  The  resolution  which  was  just  adopted  was  report- 
ed by  the  unanimous  committee.  He  then  read  the  following  reso- 
lution: 

Resolved,  That  this  convention  is  opposed  to  any  legislation  at 
the  present  time  looking  to  the  building  of  irrigation  canals,  ditcher 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  29 

and  reservoirs  by  the  state,  out  of  the  revenues  of  the  state  arising 
from  taxation;  that  we  oppose  the  issuance  of  bonds  upon  the  credit 
of  the  state  intended  either  for  the  construction  of  irrigation  canals, 
ditches  or  reservoirs;  and 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  house 
of  representatives  and  senate  of  the  state. 

The  adoption  of  the  resolutions  was  moved  and  seconded.  The 
ayes  and  nays  were  called  for.  The  resolution  carried;  ayes  25, 
nays  9. 

President — The  committee  has  recommended  that  the  other  res- 
olution referred  to  it  shall  be  laid  upon  the  table. 

A  delegate — Mr.  Chairman,  as  these  resolutions  were  read  be- 
fore the  convention,  probably  a  majority  of  us  are  very  familiar  with 
them,  and  if  there  is  no  objection,  I  move  that  they  be  laid  on  the 
table.  Carried. 

The  chairman  of  the  irrigation  law  committee  reported  as  fol- 
lows: 

Gentlemen:  Your  committee  on  irrigation  law  beg  leave  to  re- 
port that  they  have  considered  the  list  of  resolutions  and  other  mat- 
ters referred  to  it,  and  that  owing  to  the  short  time  granted  to  the 
committee  and  the  moment  of  the  questions  referred  to  it,  your  com- 
mittee has  thought  it  best  not  to  report  any  law,  but  recommend 
that  a  committee  be  appointed  by  this  convention  whose  services 
shall  end  with  the  termination  ol  the  present  legislative  assembly, 
and  that  to  this  committee  be  referred  all  bills,  resolutions,  etc.,  re- 
ferred to  your  committee. 

A  motion  to  adopt  the  recommendation  of  the  committee  was 
amended  as  follows:  That  the  whole  subject  be  referred  to  the 
chairman  of  this  convention,  H.  P.  Rolfe,  Hon.  W.  F.  Sanders  and 
Hon.  A.  M.  Holter. 

The  motion  was  declared  lost  and  a  motion  made  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  consist  of  Hon.  H.  P.  Rolfe,  Hon.  W.  F.  Sanders, 
Major  Alderson,  Mr.  H.  M.  Parchen  and  Hon.  A.  M.  Holter. 

Senator  Sanders — I  trust  my  friend  will  omit  my  name  from  the 
committee  and  see  the  propriety  of  it  in  a  minute. 

The  name  of  MY.  Sutherlin  was  then  substituted  for  that  of  Sen- 
ator Sanders;  and  motion  carried. 

Burion  of  Choteau  then  moved  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote, 
which  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Holter  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  for  the 
•  reason  that  he  thought  something  should  be  done  in  the  premises 
and  that  if  left  as  it  now  stands  it  would  be  dropped. 

On  motion  the  motion  to  reconsider  the  vote  was  laid  upon  the 
table. 

In  response  to  calls,  Senator  Sanders  spoke  as  follows: 


30  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

The  subject  that  is  before  this  convention  is  one  of  the  very 
largest  possible  interest.  I  have  never  understood  that  this  conven- 
tion was  called  or  really  designed  to  formulate  and  specifically  de- 
fine policies  with  reference  to  the  reclamation  of  arid  lands.  The 
subject  is  almost  as  large  as  maritime  or  admiralty  law — the  law 
which  determines  the  rights  of  sailors,  shippers  and  vessels  upon  the 
sea.  We  have  been  giving  a.great  deal  of  consideratirn  in  the  con- 
gress of  the  United  States  to  this  subject,  and  a  great  many  gentle- 
men are  very  much  interested  in  it.  If  I  were  to  represent  them 
here  and  be  entirely  honest  with  the  gentlemen  present,  I  would  say 
we  do  not  know  what  to  do.  We  have  not  been  able  to  arrive  at  a 
definite  conclusion  in  this  matter.  It  has  been  my  own  fortune  to  be 
one  of  the  committee  upon  the  "reclamation  of  arid  lands,  of  which 
Senator  Warren  of  Wyoming  is  chairman,  and,  in  absence  of  knowl- 
edge of  what  ought  to  be  done,  what  is  wisest  to  be  done,  and  most 
prudent,  we  have  decided  that  one  thing  is  pretty  safe,  and  that  is, 
in  the  first  place,  to  see  to  what  extent  we  can  get  the  United  States 
to  survey  the  lands  and  designate  the  reservoir  sites  belonging  to 
them.  Now,  that  we  will  be  able  to  do  that,  I  don't  say.  1  think 
some  portion  of  it  we  will  be  able  to  do.  The  United  States  is  en- 
gaged in  the  survey  of  the  public  land,  and  it  is  also  engaged  in  the 
designation  of  reservoir  sites,  not  wholly  satisfactory,  it  is  fair  to  say. 
A  number  of  gentlemen  go  and  designate  reservoir  sites  as  large  as 
a  township,  where  you  know,  and  I  know,  and  the  gentlemen  sitting 
in  this  convention  know,  there  never  will  be  a  reservoir  and  ought 
not  to  be.  Nevertheless,  criticism  of  these  locations  and  condemna- 
tion of  them  operates  to  make  their  action  a  little  more  wise.  There- 
fore, we  have  felt  that  it  was  proper  that  we  should  continue  that 
examination  and  location.  Of  course  we  have  taken  the  director  of 
the  geological  survey  and  shaken  him  up  once  in  a  while,  for  the 
reason  that  we  know  his  action  has  been  unwise.  In  Montana  I  have 
not  got  the  geographical  locations  in  my  mind  now,  but  I  know  if 
you  could  see  the  places  designated  as  reservoir  sites,  evidently 
taken  in  the  absence  of  any  close  examination  in  the  locality,  as  for 
instance,  over  in  Jefferson  county  there  are  great  areas  withdrawn 
from  settlement  for  reservoirs, — in  some  a  whole  township,  36  miles 
square,  designated  as  reservoir  sites.  We  thought  it  prudent  and 
justifiable  for  us  to  insist  that  the  United  States,  that  owns  this  large 
area,  might  make  these  appropriations  and  have  these  reservoir  sites 
selected,  but  upon  the  proposition  as  to  what  the  people  of  the  state 
of  Montana  should  do,  as  to  what  burdens  to  take  upon  the  state,  or 
the  people  of  the  state,  it  is  a  large  question.  A  man  might  well 


STATE    IRRIGATION  CONVENTION.  31 

hesitate  about  that — first,  as  to  its  constitutionality;  second,  as  to  its 
advisability.  We  all  agree  that  there  is  no  better  man  on  earth  than 
the  man  who  makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  but  one  grew 
before;  and,  if  we  can  make  a  thousand  grow  where  none  grew  be- 
fore, that  certainly  is  a  benefit  which  undoubtedly  should  be  con- 
summated. How  we  shall  go  about  it,  what  is  wisest  to  be  done,  is 
a  matter  that  the  most  enthusiastic  gentleman,  the  most  interested, 
and  the  most  honest,  will  confess  that  he  is  not  entirely  competent  to 
determine,  but  will  long  hesitate  as  to  the  extent  that  we  burden  the 
state  of  Montana  with  a  public  debt,  certainly  of  large  dimensions, 
and  forbid  immigration.  Men  will  go  by  Montana  if  it  is  largely  in 
debt.  They  are  going  by  it  now,  almost  uniformly  and  universally, 
but  if  we  put  a  very  large  and  threatening  debt  on  it,  they  would 
hardly  go  through  it.  The  Great  Northern  and  Northern  Pacific 
railroads  would  fight  it  as  they  would  pestilence,  famine  and  several 
other  things.  [Applause.1  There  need  be  no  applause  about  that, 
because,  of  course,  we  all  glean  from  old  immigrants  in  Montana 
that  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  us  to  sign  our  name  to  a 
paper  and  promise  that  other  generations  shall  pay  it,  or  the  incom- 
ing migration,  but  there  will  not  be  much  migration,  for  the  debt 
will  be  large.  I  know  that  when  a  man  promises  to  pay  he  expects 
to  pay.  It  is  the  most  convenient  thing  in  the  world  to  sign  a  note 
and  the  most  inconvenient  to  pay  it.  I  appreciate  as  well  as  any- 
body else  the  proposition  that  we  ought  to  have  these  lands  ren- 
dered fertile,  to  make  garden  spots  of  what  is  now  desert;  but  I 
should  think  that  a  great  commonwealth  like  this  has  got  to  be 
gradually  settled.  Everything  has  got  to  grow  coherently  side  by 
side  according  as  it  develops,  and  you  cannot  go  to  work  and  put 
out  a  paradise  with  nobody  to  occupy  it,  no  angels,  male  or  female, 
to  fly  in  it.  It  would  be  perfectly  idle  to  do  so.  And  while  I  know 
of  no  more  beautiful  sight  than  to  see  the  great  state  of  Montana 
with  its  wonderful  fertility  reclaimed  by  water,  even  though  it  is 
stored,  everybody  who  may  come  along  looking  for  new  lands  and 
new  homes  will  but  use  it  as  a  stepping  stone,  if  the  burden  of  taxa- 
tion is  likely  to  be  too  large.  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  per- 
haps we  should  levy  a  proper  tax  and  reclaim  it.  That  is  all  right. 
That  is  gentlemanly.  Take  the  burden  of  taxation  on  ourselves  and 
not  palm  it  off  upon  our  children.  The  subject  is  one  of  great  per- 
plexity and  magnitude,  and  if  I  were  to  be  asked  to  say  what  was  to 
be  done,  I  think  I  would  have  modestly  to  say,  "I  don't  know  what 
to  do."  I  came  here  to  find  out,  but  no  one  has  enlightened  me,  and 
although  we  have  had  several  resolutions  adopted,  I  can't  say  their 


32  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

adoption  was  wise.  I  can't  say  it  was  foolish.  We  have  for  many 
years  endeavored  to  ascertain  to  what  extent  we  can  enlarge  our  ag- 
ricultural area  and  make  it  profitable.  This  only  comes  down  to  the 
ultimate  proposition — Will  it  pay?  Of  course  this  will  pay  us  if  we 
can  get  a  commission  on  the  bonds,  or  get  into  the  job;  but  the  big 
brawny  man  whose  right  arm  makes  Montana  beautiful  will  have  it 
to  pay.  I  am  therefore  opposed  to  those  who  propose  to  make 
money  off  the  scheme. 

I  was  much  in  favor  of  this  convention  and  the  one  a  year  ago, , 
not  because  I  expected  you  would  evolve  from  them  a  definite  and 
proper  plan  that  would  be  wise,  because  a  thing  of  this  vastness  can 
not  be  settled  in  a  day;  it  grows  up;  it  is  born  of  thought,  not  only 
of  wise  men,  but  of  all  men  practical  men,  and  I  hope  you  have  not 
adjourned  without  getting  one  step  in  advance  in  this  matter. 

A  lawyer  is  a  moral  philosopher.  If  he  isn't  that,  he  is  a  mere 
chatterer  of  idle  decisions  hunting  office  quite  likely.  But  it  is  talk 
upon  this  matter,  I  don't  mean  from  lawyers  exclusively,  or  largely, 
but  farmers;  but  you  cannot  bar  lawyers,  merchants  or  preachers. 
It  is  that  kind  of  talk  that  is  going  ultimately  to  evolve  out  of  all 
this  thinking,  what  is  the  wisest  thing  for  us  to  do;  and  I  am  afraid 
you  have  written  a  great  many  resolutions,  been  up  in  the  Montana 
club  a  good  deal  too  much,  and  sat  down  here,  and  haven't  talked 
enough.  It  is  the  talk  upon  this  subject  of  irrigation  and  what  is 
wisest  and  best  to  do,  that  makes  suggestions  to  you  that  you  are 
going  to  take  to  your  homes  and  talk  over  with  your  wives,  your 
neighbors  and  your  children  and,  when  you  come  here  again  in  six 
months  or  a  year,  that  is  going  to  bring  out  of  the  whole  matter  the 
appropriate  thing  to  do.  I  can't  help  you  any.  I  don't  know  but  it 
is  the  largest  question  we  have  to  deal  with  in  the  state  of  Montana. 
It  is  precisely  as  if  this  convention  was  coming  here  now  and  then 
to  fulfill  its  mission,  adopt  rules  and  regulations,  and  keep  alive  the 
issues  and  kindle  a  new  interest.  That  is  just  what  we  are  to  do.  In 
the  United  States  senate  and  congress  we  have  undertaken  so  far 
as  we  can  to  turn  the  matter  over  to  each  state  for  its  determination, 
and  let  the  United  States  step  forward,  to  do  what  it  will.  They  have 
had  to  go  moderately  at  work  on  it  in  congress,  but  the  matter  has 
been  one  of  large  discussion,  and  they  would  like  to  get  rid  of  it  if 
they  could.  It  is  so  large  that  the  courts  of  the  United  States  do  not 
feel  adequate  to  deal  with  it.  One  of  the  ablest  and  best  men  in  the 
United  States  senate  said  in  my  hearing,  and  I  believe  in  response  to 
a  speech  of  my  own,  that  he  was  in  favor  of  giving  the  whole  thing 
over  to  the  people  of  the  state  and  letting  them  deal  with  it,  and  I 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  33 

suppose  that  is  true. 

I  do  not  get  away  from  the  state  of  Montana  with  solicitude  for 
any  subject  so  intense  as  the  solicitude  I  have  about  this  matter,  and 
I  am.  glad  to  see  that  so  many  men  have  come  from  all  over  the  state 
with  the  same  solicitude;  come  here  with  sober  minds,  not  to  burden 
the  people  of  the  state,  but  to  take  the  matter  earnestly  into  consid- 
eration and  do  that  which  they  think  to  be  the  wisest  and  most  pru- 
dent to  the  last.  This  is  precisely  the  condition  that  devolves  upon 
us,  and  it  is  this  that  alleviates  the  duty  we  have  to  perform  in  con- 
nection with  this  matter. 

A.  Nelson  spoke  of  the  United  States  geological  survey  and 
reports  on  canals  and  irrigation,  and  referred  the  delegates  to  Sen- 
ator Sanders. 

Senator  Sanders  said  only  a  limited  supply  of  these  were  given 
out.  He  had  endeavored  to  supply  the  various  libraries  in  the  state 
but  could  not  do  much  more. 

The  roll  was  called  preparatory  to  the  election  of  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year. 

President— The  officers  of  this  association  consist  of  a  president, 
two  vice  presidents  and  an  executive  committee  consisting  of  one 
from  each  county.  The  first  officer  to  be  chosen  is  a  president. 

The  names  of  John  A.  Robinson  of  Gallatin  and  Z.  T.  Burton  of 
Choteau  were  then  placed  in  nomination. 

Mr.  Burton — I  feel  very  grateful  for  the  offering  of  my  name  for 
the  honorable  position  of  president  of  this  body,  but  I  was  just  rising 
to  secbnd  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Robinson,  and  I  therefore  withdraw 
my  name  and  second  the  nomination  of  the  gentleman  from  Galla- 
tin. 

Mr.  Parchen — I  nominate  Mr.  H.  P.  Rolfe,  the  present  efficient 
president  of  this  body. 

Mr.  Rolfe — I  feel  very  much  obliged,  but  I  have  had  all  the  hon- 
or I  desire. 

A  motion  that  nominations  be  closed  carried,  as  did  a  motion 
that  the  secretary  be  authorized  to  cast  the  ballot  for  John  A  Robin- 
son, for  president. 

Mr.  Robinson  was  called  and  responded  as  follows: 

I  certainly  appreciate  the  honor  which  you  have  bestowed  upon 
me.  It  was  entirely  unexpected,  and  I  feel  that  you  have  not  made 
a  very  good  choice.  Of  course,  I  am  not  accustomed  to  making 
speeches.  I  never  made  a  speech  that  amounted  to  anything  in  my 
life;  although  I  have  been  accused  of  such  things,  I  plead  not  guilty. 
I  will  certainly  do  the  best  I  can  in  promoting  the  interests  of  irriga- 


34  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

;  ad  a  person  really  does  not  know  what  a  horse  can  do  until 
you  hiich  him  up,  and  certainly  when  I  go  home  to  the  ares  of  my 
ranch  and  the  time  comes  to  turn  the  water  on,  with  a  shovel  and  my 
sleeves  rolled  up,  I  hope  to  be  able  to  promote  irrigation. 

For  first  vice  president,  Mr.  O'Donnell  of  Yellowstone  was 
elected. 

For  second  vice  president,  Mr.  Wright  of  Cascade,  the  secretary 
casting  the  vote  as  before. 

Nominations  for  secretary  being  in  order,  Mr.  Wade  said: 

Mr.  Chairman:  The  office  of  secretary,  it  seems  to  me,  is  the 
most  important  of  all,  because  it  is  in  his  hands  and  in  his  power  to 
make  this  convention  a  success.  I  therefore  put  in  nomination  the 
name  of  Mr.  Robbins,  our  present  efficient  secretary. 

The  name  of  H.  M.  Parchen  was  also  proposed  but  withdrawn. 

On  motion  the  president  was  authorized  to  cast  the  vote  of  the 
convention  for  secretary,  which  he  did  by  casting  thirty-six  votes  for 
S.  B.  Robbins. 

Mr.  Robbins — I  thank  you, very  much  for  this  honor,  and  I  quite 
agree  with  Mr. Wade  that  the  secretary  will  have  the  most  to  do,  and 
I  certainly  shall  do  all  in  my  power  to  promote  the  interests  of  irri- 
gation throughout  Montana. 

H.  M.  Parchen  was  unanimously  elected  treasurer  for   the   com- 
g  year. 

A  delegate — Mr.  President:  I  would  like  to  ask  what  shall  be 
done  in  the  case  of  counties  not  represented;  for  instance,  Fergus 
county,  one  of  our  best  agricultural  counties,  a  county  where  the  sub- 
ject of  irrigation  requires  the  most  attention,  is  not  represented  at 

ai. 

A  voice— Mr.  Goodell  was  in  here. 

Speaker,  continuing — I  think  there  are  one  or  two  other  counties 
that  are  not  represented,  and  I  merely  used  that  as  an  example. 
What  is  to  be  done  in  the  case  of  new  counties  created?  Members 
of  the  executive  committee,  I  understand  from  the  rules,  are  to  rep- 
resent the  association  in  their  county  and  are  to  rustle  around  gen. 
erally,  look  out  for  the  interests  of  the  society,  and  particularly  to 
obtain  new  membership;  and  it  is  important  that  we  shall  have  a 
representative  from  every  county.  We  would  like  some  arrange- 
ments made  providing  for  representation  from  each  county  and  also 
for  new  counties. 

Mr.  Nelson— -I  move  that  the  executive  committee  that  we  are  to 
nominate  and  elect  tonight  consist  of  members  selected  by  this  con- 
vention to  secure  representatives  from  th:  new  counties  which  have 


STATE    IRRIGATION  CONVENTION.  35 


been  created  or  will  be. 

Mr.  Oliver  suggested  that  in  case  of  new  counties  and  counties 
not  represented  tonight,  they  could  be  within  the  next  year  entitled 
to  representation  by  the  appointment  of  citizens  of  that  county  who 
should  join  the  organization. 

Mr.  Shuart  said  that  he  had  a  little  experience  in  connection 
with  the  Wool  Growers  association  of  this  state.  Anyone  having 
work  of  this  kind  through  the  executive  committee  might  correspond 
with  the  chairman  of  the  board  of  commissioners  of  that  county,  or 
with  anyone  he  saw  fit,  usually  some  person  who  first  expressed  a 
willingness  to  become  a  member  of  the  society;  that  we  take  no  risk 
in  appointing  someone  who  will  accept  it. 

Mr.  Nelson — For  instance,  say  we  appoint  a  man  tonight  that 
lives  in  Choteau  county.  Being  in  Choteau  county,  he  will  be  near 
Valley  county  and  will  know  a  man  in  that  county  to  whom  he  can 
write,  whereas,  the  secretary  would  have  to  write  all  over  the  state. 
The  representative  of  Missoula  county  will  know  somebody  in  Flat- 
head  county  or  the  lower  county,  and  so  in  regard  to  Teton.  If  the 
executive  committee  will  do  this,  they  will  save  the  secretary  from 
writing  all  over. 

By  motion  duly  carried,  the  president  and  secretary  were  auth- 
orized to  fill  all  vacancies  existing  in  the  executive  board  after  the 
appointment  of  members  by  the  convention. 

The  following  members  were  then  chosen:  W.  M.  Oliver, 
Beayerhead;  H.  P.  Rolfe,  Cascade;  G.  C.  Burns,  Choteau;  A.  L. 
Huffman,  Custer;  C.  K.  Hardenbrook,  Deer  Lodge;  Clarence  Good- 
ell,  Fergus;  John  A.  Keating,  Jefferson;  W.  W.  Alderson,  Gallatin; 
Donald  Bradford,  Lewis  and  Clarke;  W.  H.  Sutherlin,  Meagher; 
A.  G.  England,  Missoula;  Alfred  Myers,  Park;  T.  J.  Conner,  Madi- 
son; Z.  T.  Burton,  Teton;  Fred  Whiteside,  Flathead;  John  Caplice, 
Silver  Bow;  Tom  O'Hanlon,  Valley. 

Nominations  for  the  engineering  committee  were  then  declared 
in  order,  and  the  following  were  chosen:  C.  W.  Thorpe,  Bozeman, 
Gallatin  county;  A.  J.  Crawley,  Boulder,  Jefferson  county;  S.  B. 
Robbins,  Great  Falls,  Cascade  county;  J.  M.  Paige,  Twin  Bridges, 
Madison  county;  J.  W.  Wade,  Helena,  Lewis  and  Clarke  county; 

A  delegate  thought  that  there  had  been  a  motion  empowering 
the  president  and  secretary  to  receive  membership,  and  was  informed 
that  they  were  authorized  by  the  motion  he  referred  to  to  fill  vacan- 
cies in  the  executive  committee. 

The  following  amendment  was  made  to  the  motion:     "And  for- 


36  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

ward    the    money   to   the   secretary;"  which  received  a  second,  and 
carried. 

Mr.  Wright,  of  Cascade — I  believe  the  next  in  order  is  the  selec- 
tion of  a  place  for  holding  the  next  meeting".  In  behalf  of  the  dele- 
gates from  Cascade  county,  in  behalf  of  the  board  of  trade  of  Great 
Falls,  and  in  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Great  Falls,  I  extend  to  this 
convention  an  invitation  to  hold  its  next  annual  meeting  at  Great 
Falls. 

The  invitation  was  accepted  and  the  above  place  designated  for 
the  holding  of  the  next  annual  meeting. 

Mr.  Wade — I  would  like  to  ask  for  information.  If  a  committee 
were  here  to  make  a  certain  report  and  no  chairman  were  named, 
would  the  first  named  be  the  chairman?  Answered  affirmatively. 

Senator  Sanders — Why  not  make  Wade  chairman?       He   is   cen- 
trally located. 

Mr.  Wade — I  didn't  mean  that.     I  simply  wanted  to  know. 

President — If  there  is  no  objection  on  the  part  of  the  convention 
Mr.  Wade  will  be  appointed  chairman  of  the  five  engineers. 

No  objection,  and  Mr.  Wade  was  declared  chairmen-. 

Moved  that  a  vote  of  thanks  be  tendered  by  this  convention  to 
the  board  of  trade  and  citizens  of  Helena,  and  to  the  several  rail- 
roads, for  favors  extended  to  this  convention.  Carried. 

The  president  suggested  that  before  adjournment  some  provision 
should  be  made  for  the  publication  of  the  reports  and  the  payment 
of  the  bills  of  the  stenographers,  of  whom,  he  said,  there  had  been 
three,  during  the  whole  session. 

It  was  moved  that  the  treasurer  be  required  to  pay  the  bills  of 
the  stenographers  for  their  reports  first,  and  then  if  the  funds  in  the 
treasury  were  sufficient,  to  have  printed  500  copies  of  the  proceed- 
ings, that  a  copy  thereof  be  furnished  to  each  member  of  the  con- 
vention, and  that  the  rest  be  judiciously  distributed  throughout  the 
state.  Carried. 

It  was  suggested  that  someone  should  arrange  the  reports  and 
get  them  in  proper  shape  for  publication.  The  president  said  there 
were  yet  some  reports  to  be  received;  that  that  from  Park  county 
was  the  only  one  in  shape  to  go  into  the  pamphlet;  that  it  would  be 
necessary  for  someone  to  arrange  the  pamphlet  before  publication. 

The  following  motion  then  carried: 

I  move  that  the  secretary  compile  the  pamphlet,  and  if  there  is 
sufficient  money  in  the  treasury,  to  have  it  published,  and  that  he 
also  be  instructed  to  purchase  for  his  use  suitable  stationery. 

The  question  of  the  cost  of  publication  was   taken   up   and   the 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  37 

matter  of  the  same  expense  last  year  discussed. 

The  secretary  was  instructed  to  correspond  with  Mr.  Brown,  the 
chairman  of  the  printing  committee,  on  the  subject. 

Mr.  Nelson — I  move  that  the  person  who  was  treasurer  of  the 
last  convention  be  requested  by  the  secretary  upon  the  action  of 
this  convention  to  report  in  full  how  much  money  was  received  and 
how  much  expended,  and  let  it  be  embodied  in  the  proceedings  of 
this  convention;  and  that  he  turn  the  balance,  if  any,  over  to  the  new 
treasurer  of  this  organization.  The  motion  prevailed. 

A  motion  was  introduced  that  the  secretary  of  the  committee  on 
publication  be  required  to  give  an  account  of  the  money  and  state 
how  many  pamphlets  were  distributed  and  turn  over  the  balance  of 
the  money,  if  any,  after  having  made  his  accou  ting,  which  of  course 
was  to  be  accompanied  by  the  printer's  bill.  Carried. 

Mr.  Nelson  said  he  understood  that  the  constitution  made  no 
provision  for  a  report  by  the  treasurer  so  far  as  this  convention  is 
concerned,  and  thought  provision  should  be  made  for  a  report  at  the 
next  annual  meeting  by  the  treasurer  of  all  money  received  and  ex- 
pended— make  a  full  statement  of  the  accounts  of  the  convention. 

A  motion  to  the  effect  that  the  minutes  of  this  meeting  be  pub- 
lished; that  500  copies  be  put  in  the  hands  of  the  executive  commit- 
tee for  distribution  according  to  some  equitable  means,  was  intro- 
duced. 

President — I  want  to  say  that  in  the  manner  in  which  these  pa- 
pers are  today,  the  secretary  will  have  to  employ  a  typewriter  in 
order  to  get  them  into  shape,  and  he  ought  to  be  compensated  for 
the  expense. 

Mr.  Burton  of  Choteau  moved  that  the  motion  just  introduced 
be  amended  to  the  effect  that  the  secretary  see  that  the  publication 
of  these  proceedings  did  not  cost  more  than  the  amount  of  money  in 
the  treasury.  Amendment  concurred  in  and  motion  carried. 

Senator  Sanders — I  move  that  the  thanks  of  this  association  be 
tendered  to  the  officers  of  this  convention.  Carried. 

Mr.  Whiteside — I  listened  with  a  great  deal  of  interest  to  the  re- 
marks made  tonight  by  our  senator,  and  while  I  do  not  feel  able  to 
follow  him,  I  wish  to  express  one  or  two  thoughts  that  occurred  to 
me  as  he  was  talking.  He  said  he  hoped  this  convention  would  not 
adjourn  without  taking  one  step  forward  in  the  solution  of  this  prob- 
lem of  irrigation,  and  1  do  not  see  that  we  have.  While  I  agree  with 
him  in  everything  that  he  said,  most  particularly  in  the  statement 
that  this  subject  is  a  vast  one,  and  while  it  is  vast  and  the  responsi- 
bilities are  great,  it  is  certainly  not  a  new  one.  It  is  the  same  con- 


38  •    SECOND    ANNUAL   SESSION. 

dition  that  confronted  the  people  of  Colorado,  California  and  other 
states,  and  while  they  have  not  solved  the  problem  entirely,  they 
have  certainly  gone  forward  on  the  line;  and  I  move  you  that  the 
officers  of  this  convention  be  a  committee,  together  with  the  presi- 
dent and  secretary,  the  two  vice  presidents  and  three  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  whom  they  shall  appoint,  shall  be  a  committee  to 
frame  or  suggest  to  the  legislative  assembly  of  the  state  of  Montana 
suitable  legislation. 

Mr.  Murray  of  Gallatin — I  have  been  working  with  the  Farmers 
alliance  of  Gallatin  county,  but  on  a  different  proposition  than  this. 
I  have  learned  from  Senator  Sanders  that  he  was  not  able  to  solve 
or  tell  the  people  what  was  the  best  way  to  pursue  to  alleviate  the 
ranchmen  and  farmers  of  the  great  state  of  Montana  from  the  di- 
lemma which  legislation— or  rather,  lack  of  legislation,  has  placed 
the  honest  yeoman  of  Montana.  You  contravene  the  interest  of  the 
farmer  of  today  when  you  license  corporations  to  take  water  from 
the  rivers  of  Montana;  and  when  you  take  away  from  the  honest 
yeoman  and  the  people  and  place  the  water  in  the  hands  of  a  cor- 
poration, you  rob  them;  you  rob  the  beef  raiser;  you  rob  the  sheep- 
man; you  rob  the  horseman;  you  rob  the  miner  who  takes  gold  and 
silver  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  because  you  emburden  upon 
him  a  higher  price  for  everything  he  uses.  I  have  a  bill  here  of  the 
prices  of  the  farmer's  products  of  Gallatin  valley  and  the  state  at 
large,  that  I  dare  any  man  to  contradict  as  far  as  its  veracity  is  con- 
cerned, and  you  can  go  home  and  figure  for  yourselves  and  see  what 
the  farmers  of  the  state  are  getting  for  what  they  produce.  Now,  we 
get  50  cents  a  bushel  for  wheat  (flour  is  worth  $2.20  now),  oats  are 
worth  80  cents  and  potatoes  60  cents  a  hundred.  Now  1  ask  this 
convention  that  they  frame  a  law  and  that  they  frame  that  law  to 
stop  corporations  from  taking  the  water  from  the  honest  yeoman. 

Senator  Sanders  concurred  in  the  propositions  advanced  by  Mr. 
Murray.  He  said  the  gentleman  was  right.  It  would  be  a  good 
deal  wiser  to  say  we  won't  have  any  corporations  in  the  state  or  any 
other  thing  that  is  an  outrage  and  no  more  upon  everybody.  If  a 
man  wants  to  go  into  business,  let  him  take  his  money  and  go  into 
it;  let  him  take  his  credit  and  go  into  it;  let  him  take  his  individual 
liability  and  go  into  it.  That  is  all  right;  he  then  becomes  the  in- 
dorser  of  his  enterprise;  he  is  responsible  for  his  success  or  failure; 
his  estate  is  security  that  he  won't  r  ;n  around  and  undertake  swind- 
ling anybody;  but  we  have  enlarged  this  matter  of  incorporating  any 
enterprise  until  we  have  encouraged  this  gambling  into  every  line  of 
business,  and  with  $500  or  $1,000  a  man  can  set  up  any  kind  of  game 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  39 

he  chooses  under  the  guise  of  a  corporation  and  cheat  anybody  and 
leave  him  a  creditor  of  his  concern.  If  he  has  made  out  of  that  cor- 
poration five  hundred  or  more  dollars,  he  can  laugh  at  owing  any 
widow  or  orphan  in  the  state  and  every  fanner,  and  can  walk  off 
with  the  money,  and  they  have  no  redress.  So  that,  if  the  people  of 
Montana  apprehend  the  philosophy  of  government  as  philosophers, 
we  can  incorporate  railroad  companies  because  that  we  all  feel  is  a 
public  convenience,  but  when  it  comes  down  to  extending  the  laws 
of  corporation  to  business  affairs,  if  permitted  at  all,  he  thought 
ample  security  should  be  given  that  the  business  be  conducted  hon- 
orably; that  business  corporations  would  exist  and  the  farmers  and 
the  people  of  Montana  continue  to  be  swindled  by  the  shrewd,  de- 
ceiving and  dishonest  incorporators  until  their  eyes  were  opened 
and  proper  legislation  secured  on  the  corporation  laws  of  the  state. 

He  referred  to  the  common  law  on  the  subject  of  corporations, 
saying  that  it  extended  the  privilege  of  incorporating  only  to  those 
concerns  which  were  of  public  convenience,  as  railroad  and  gas 
companies.  To  that  he  was  favorable.  But  while  he  thought  that 
the  privilege  of  incorporating  was  properly  given  them,  street  rail- 
roads, water,  gas  and  electric  light  companies,  he  said,  should  be 
under  the  control  of  the  state  and  the  people  of  the  state;  that  if  a 
man  wanted  to  enter  into  any  business,  let  him  take  his  money  and 
invest  it  on  his  own  liability;  if  he  succeeds,  he  is  justly  entitled  to 
his  profits;  but  if  he  fails,  make  him  give  up  his  estate  and  every 
part  thereof  until  every  man,  woman  and  child  who  are  creditors  of 
his  are  paid.  Corporations  had  fed  on  the  people  for  the  last  twen- 
ty-five or  fifty  years  and  made  the  Goulds,  the  Vanderbilts,  the 
Astors  and  the  Westinghouses. 

In  conclusion  he  said  that  though  the  appointment  of  a  commit- 
tee, as  suggested  by  Messrs.  Whiteside  and  Murray,  was  all  right,  he 
did  not  know  what  kind  of  a  law  they  would  frame;  that  it  should  be 
one  declaring  the  water  of  the  state  the  property  of  the  state  and  the 
people  of  the  state  and  the  land  along  the  banks  a  part  and  parcel 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  state  of  Montana.  He  referred  incidentally 
to  Mr.  Parchen  whom  he  said  was  a  member  of  the  gas  company. 
He  was  in  favor  of  paying  him  for  his  plant  and  letting  it  be  the 
property  of  the  people  of  the  state — the  property  of  the  public. 

The  following  resolution  was  introduced: 

That  the  executive  committee,  together  with  the  president  and 
secretary,  be  instructed  to  draw  up  resoluitons  on  this  question,  to 
be  presented  at  the  next  session  of  the  body  at  Great  Falls. 

To  which  the  following  amendment  was  made: 


40  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

That  the  secretary  be  instructed  to  send  to  every  member  of  this 
society  a  copy  of^the  proposed  bill  or  proposed  resolution,  at  least 
thirty  days  befor'e  the  convening  of  the  next  convention. 

The  amendment  was  accepted  and  the  motion  carried. 

Mr.  Murray  suggested  that  the  president  and  secretary  and  ex- 
ecutive committee,  forming  the  committee  just  chosen,  should  have 
Senator  Sanders'  aid  in  drawing  up  the  resolutions. 

President  Rolfe — You  have  elected  a  president,  and  I  think  it  is 
but  fitting  that  he  take  the  chair  before  we  adjourn;  and  I  appoint 
Messrs.  Wade  and  O'Donnell  to  conduct  Mr.  Robinson  to  the  chair. 

A  motion  was  introduced  to  the  effect  that  the  president,  two 
vice  presidents  and  secretary  be  a  committee  to  arrange  a  program, 
employ  speakers,  etc.,  one  month  before  our  next  annual  meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  reading  before  the  convention  at  that  time. 

The  motion  carried. 

It  was  suggested  to  the  president  that  he  might  possibly  not 
have  looked  over  the  rules  as  yet,  and  that  there  were  to  be  repre- 
sentatives, one  from  each  county,  appointed  to  prepare  papers  and 
reports  to  present  to  the  convention  at  its  next  meeting  and  that 
they  be  men  who  are  superintending  ditches,  practical  men,  and  not 
those  entirely  ignorant  on  the  subject. 

On  motion  of  H.  P.  Rolfe  the  convention  adjourned  sine  die. 


REPORTS  ON  THE  STATE  OF  IRRIGA- 
TION IN  SEVERAL  COUNTIES. 


CASCADE  COUNTY. 

In  Cascade  county  the  record  for  irrigation  is  as  follows: 

Sun  River,  in  operation,  12  miles,  approximate  cost,  $24,000; 
Crown  Butte,  26  miles,  $76,000;  Wilson  &  Thomson,  24  miles,  $70,000; 
Chestnut  Valley,  12  miles,  $24,000;  Missouri  Rapids,  5  miles,  $15,000; 
Willow  Creek,  7  miles,  $7,000;  Muddy,  10  miles,  $10,000.  Total,  96 
miles,  $226,000. 

Under  construction — Benton  lake,  20  miles;  Priest's  rapids,  24 
miles;  Muddy  reservoir,  217  acres  area,  average  depth  25  feet,  to 
cover  about  4,000  acres  in  connection  with  the  Muddy  ditch,  to  cost, 
approximately,  $10,000. 

Small  ditches,  owned  with  the  land  and  built  at  a  comparatively 
limited  cost,  as  follows,  from  one  to  three  miles  long:  Belt  creek, 
Willow  creek,  Otter  creek,  Sand  Coulee  creek,  Deep  creek,  Wegner 
creek. 

One  great  drawback  upon  irrigation  today  is  the  system  of  tax- 
ation. Example:  A  ditch  10  miles  long,  costing  $10,000,  to  irrigate 
2,000  acres,  assessed  $6,666;  2,000  acres  of  land  assessed  $30,000; 
2,000  acres  adjoining  land  assessed  $30,000,  making  total  assessment 
$66,600,  less  adjoining  land  assessed  at  $3  per  acre,  $12,000,  leaving 
assessment  on  the  ditch,  which  cost  $10,000,  at  $54,600,  and  this  two 
years  before  a  drop  of  water  had  been  put  through  the  ditch. 

Taken  as  an  example  of  whether  irrigation  pays  or  not,  the  strip 


42  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

of  the  Sun  river  valley  from  Great  Falls  to  the  town  of  Sun  River 
shows  without  any  assistance  from  other  sources.  From  the  mouth 
of  the  river  to  where  the  Muddy  empties  in  the  valley  is  given  up  to 
prairie  dogs  and  nothing  is  raised.  This  stretch  is  about  fifteen 
miles  long.  When  one  goes  up  the  hill  at  Sun  River  Leavings,  what 
a  sight  meets  his  eyes,  and  how  entirely  different  from  the  one  just 
left  behind  !  Ahead,  the  valley  is  green  with  great  fields  of  timothy 
up  to  one's  waist,  fields  of  wheat  thrashing  forty  and  often  more 
bushels  per  acre,  oat  fields  where  the  farmer  gets  his  eighty  bushels 
per  acre  and  more,  avenues  of  trees  along  the  roads  and  up  to  the 
houses,  the  farms  fenced,  well-built  houses  and  good  barns,  some- 
times of  stone,  and  every  evidence  of  prosperity,  and  the  whole  of 
this  caused  by  a  little  stream  of  water  running  a  distance  of  twelve 
or  thirteen  miles  in  a  ditch  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  wide,  and  applied 
to  the  farms  along  its  course.  One  of  the  most  noticeable  places  is 
that  of  Mr.  Robert  S.  Ford,  the  president  of  the  Great  Falls  National 
bank,  and  he  was  laughed  at  when  he  started  in  to  reclaim  this  un- 
promising piece  of  land,  all  covered  with  sage  brush  twenty  years 
ago  when  he  took  it  up,  and  now  one  of  the  prettiest  places  in  the 
state  and  a  profitable  one  too. 

Cascade  county  has  the  water  and  the  land,  more  water  than 
almost  any  other  portion  of  the  arid  region,  and  land  second  to  none, 
and  what  is  needed  is  capital  to  go  ahead  and  wise  energetic  men  at 
the  head  of  the  enterprises  to  build  the  canals  and  colonize  the  lands 
under  them. 

The  greatest  drawback  to  the  proper  development  of  the  arid 
region  is  the  building  of  small  ditches  along  the  bottom  lands,  using 
up  the  water  and  wasting  it  so  that  there  never  can  be  water  enough 
to  put  into  a  high-line  canal  without  endless  lawsuits,  and  probably 
not  then.  But  if  the  high-line  canal  (and  there  is  almost  always  one) 
were  built  first  all  these  small  ditches  would  be  unnecessary;  their 
owners  could  get  water  from  the  big  ditch  just  as  well,  without  the 
loss  of  available  water  from  seepage  and  evaporation  caused  by  all 
the  small  ditches.  The  bench  lands  are  almost  invariably  the  best 
adapted  for  agriculture  and  these  could  be  developed  by  a  high-line 
canal  where  they  never  could  be  reached  by  the  small  ones.  Right 
here  in  Cascade  county  and  the  adjoining  portions  of  Teton,  Lewis 
and  Clarke  and  Choteau,  that  are  in  the  same  drainage  basin,  lie 
about  1,000,000  acres  of  unexcelled  agricultural  land  that  could  be 
watered  by  the  building  of  two  systems  of  irrigation  canals.  The 
two  systems  woj.ld  cost  very  large  sums  of  money,  but  they  would  be 
cheaper  than  the  average  of  the  United  States  by  many  dollars  when 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  43 

the  cost  per  acre  irrigated  was  considered.  But  they  would  support 
a  population  of  half  a  million  people,  directly  and  indirectly.  They 
would  be  paying  propositions  to  the  promoters,  the  investors,  the 
farmers,  and  to  the  whole  state  of  Montana. 

"Irrigation  has  been  waiting  to  receive  the  same  enthusiastic 
consideration  that  the  men  of  the  west  have  lavished  upon  mines, 
town  lots  and  railroads.  If  Colorado,  Montana  and  Utah  will  put 
their  brains  and  energies  into  the  subject  now  they  will  go  to  the 
front  with  a  bound." 


GALLATIN  COUNTY. 

Gallatin  county  was  one  of  the  earliest  settled  counties  in  the 
state  and  the  farmers  started  in  in  early  days  to  construct  ditches 
and  there  are  now  some  sixty-four  or  more  ditches,  some  very  ex- 
pensive, almost  all  of  them  completed.  Irrigation  can  show  in  Gal- 
latin county  the  best  practical  results  of  any  county  in  the  state,  if 
not  in  the  entire  arid  regions.  Such  in  fact  was  the  expression  of 
Senator  Stoddard  when,  as  a  member  of  the  congressional  commis- 
sion, he  visited  Montana  three  years  ago. 

Most  of  the  canals  and  ditches  have  been  constructed  by  private 
enterprise,  paid  for  by  local  capital,  and  principally  by  the  farmers. 
I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  they  have  expended  since  the  settlement 
of  the  county  $500,000  in  canals  and  irrigating  ditches,  four-fifths  of 
which  have  been  constructed  by  the  farmers  themselves.  There  are 
two  ditches  which  are  under  the  control,  practically,  of  outside  capi- 
talists, but  one  of  which  has  been  constructed  by  outside  capital.  In 
fact,  they  cannot  be  said  to  be  controlled  by  outside  capital,  as  the 
parties  who  have  contributed  most  extensively  are  the  farmers  in 
Gallatin  valley. 

The  Manhattan  Malting  company  has  the  most  expensive  ditch* 
in  the  county  if  not  in  the  state.  The  main  ditch  is  twenty-four  miles 
in  length  and  they  propose  to  add  three  miles,  making  twenty-seven 
miles  in  all,  which  will  cost  $100,000. 

The  Gallatin  canal  was  started  by  the  farmers  themselves,  but 
they  felt  as  though  they  were  unable  to  complete  it  so  they  appealed 
to  outside  capitalists,  who  induced  the  farmers  to  take  stock  in  the 
enterprise  and  they  managed  the  business.  The  farmers  took  almost 
stock  enough  to  build  the  ditch  and  the  matter  is  now  in  the  courts. 
It  seems  that  the  incorporators  and  officers  of  the  ditch  company 
voted  to  themselves  a  large  amount  of  stock  with  no  consideration 
while  the  stock  that  was  issued  to  the  farmers  had  to  be  paid  for,  in 


44  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

actual  work  on  the  ditch.  I  see  that  the  courts  have  recently  set 
aside  the  action  of  the  incorporators  and  officer^  of  the  company,  so 
far  as  they  have  appropriated  large  blocks  of  .  tock  to  themselves 
and  to  which  they  were  not  entitled,  so  that,  practically,  the  canal, 
which  is  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  in  length,  and  cost  $75,000,  was 
built  by  the  farmers  of  the  Gallatin  valley  and  it  will  eventually  fall 
into  their  hands. 

The  ditches  there  are  easily  constructed  and  the  valley  is  beauti- 
fully watered,  as  every  one  knows.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  divert 
the  water  of  the  streams  on  to  the  land  to  be  irrigated.  It  is  merely 
a  matter  of  sticking  in  a  plow  and  plowing  a  few  furrows  which  are 
cleaned  by  the  use  of  some  crude  instrument  to  throw  out  the  dirt, 
but  whatever  sort  of  a  ditch  it  is  they  all  cost  money.  With  the 
ditches  we  now  have,  perhaps  one-half  of  the  tillable  land  is  under 
ditch,  or  can  be  irrigated. 

There  is  another  ditch  there  called  the  Excelsior.  It  was  built 
in  six  or  eight  months  and  I  do  not  know  what  the  cost  was.  It  is 
proposed  to  increase  the  length  of  this  ditch  the  coming  season.  We 
have  had  more  or  less  litigation  at  first  to  quiet  the  rights  of  the 
claimants  to  water  and  to  determine  the  amount  of  water  each  of  the 
parties  is  entitled  to.  This  has  amounted  to  a  considerable  amount 
of  money  in  the  aggregate,  but  it  has  been  distributed  amongst  so 
many  that  it  has  scarcely  been  felt. 

At  present  we  are  in  splendid  shape  in  regard  to  the  condition 
of  our  irrigating  ditches  and  canals.  We  are  producing  a  large 
amount  of  grain  in  the  Gallatin  valley  and  in  the  foothills  next  to 
the  mountains  and  on  the  mountain  slopes  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  bushels  of  winter  wheat  have  been  raised  without  resorting  to  irri- 
gation. This  land  will  remain  as  fertile  and  sustain  large  crops,  as 
it  has  been  demonstrated  that  our  mountain  streams  furnish,  very 
4argely,  the  necessary  ingredients  to  sustain  and  restore  the  soil  and 
supply  that  which  was  taken  away  by  the  crops.  The  soil  varies  in 
depth  from  six  to  eight  feet.  Our  irrigation  system  has  demonstrated 
that  where  the  ground  has  been  properly  cultivated  and  irrigated  for 
one  or  two  years  it  needs  a  less  amount  of  water  afterwards  than  it 
did  at  first.  I  have  noticed  very  frequently  that  after  a  severe  dry 
spell  irrigation  causes  a  heavy  rainfall.  There  may  be  something  in 
the  statement  that  the  evaporation  of  the  water  causes  condensation. 
There  does  not  seem  to  be  so  much  trouble  about  water  as  in  former 
years.  Our  farmers  do  not  resort  to  irrigation  so  often  in  the  season 
to  produce  their  crops.  It  is  seldom  that  they  have  to  irrigate  more 
than  once  or  twice,  unless  it  is  where  the  soils  are  somewhat  shallow 


STATE    IRRIGATION  CONVENTION.  45 

with  boulders  and  gravel  near  the  surface.  There  is  a  great  divers- 
ity of  soil  in  the  Gallatin  valley.  A  portion  of  this  has  been  taken 
up  by  the  Manhattan  Malting  company.  It  is  sandy  and  loose  and 
requires  more  water  than  moist  soil.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that 
it  produces  excellent  barley.  They  will  raise  30,000  bushels  and  will 
add  very  largely  to  the  productive  industries  of  Gallatin  county. 
They  are  becoming  quite  an  important  factor  in  our  prosperity. 


JEFFERSON    COUNTY. 

Jefferson  county  is  situated  about  the  center  of  the  state.  It  has 
quite  an  amount  of  agricultural  land  and  is  watered  largely  by  the 
Missouri  river  on  the  southeast,  and  the  Big  and  Little  Boulder 
rivers,  White-tail  Deer  creek,  Cataract  c|Bk,  Muskrat  creek,  Basin 
creek,  Red  Rock  creek,  Elkhorn  creek,  B^PIr  creek,  Big  and  Little 
Pipestone  creeks,  Fish  creek,  Crow  creek  and  Prickly  Pear  creek. 

Along  all  these  streams  is  a  large  area  of  agricultural  land,  only 
partially  covered  by  water.  There  are  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  of  what  is  known  as  irrigating  ditches  taken  from 
the  above  named  streams,  carrying  all  the  way  from  twenty  to  five 
hundred  inches  of  water  each,  and  irrigating  about  thirty-four  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  during  the  wet  season,  but  during  the  dry  season 
about  one-third  of  the  above  number  would  be  useless. 

There  is,  with  the  exception  of  extreme  dry  weather,  a  sufficient 
supply  of  water  to  fill  all  the  ditches.  But  by  the  construction  of 
small  dams  on  the  above  creeks,  there  could  be  water  enough  saved 
to  cover  four  times  that  amount  of  land. 

Speaking  of  dams  and  reservoir  sites,  would  say  that  nature  has 
placed  good  sites  on  all  these  streams,  not  requiring  dams  of  over 
fifteen  to  three  hundred  feet  in  length.  These  would  furnish  water 
enough  to  cover  all  the  agricultural  land  along  these  creeks. 

Very  respectfully,  E.  RYAN. 


PARK  COUNTY. 

Park  county  has  an  estimated  acreage  of  130,000  acres  of  agri- 
cultural lands,  something  over  40,000  acres  of  which  are  under  irri- 
gation. Her  source  of  water  supply  is  the  Yellowstone  river  and  its 
various  tributaries,  the  largest  and  principal  ones  of  which  are 
Shields  river,  Big  Timber  creek,  Sweet  Grass  creek,  the  Boulder  and 


SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 


the  Clark's  fork,  the  latter  bringing  in  the  waters  of  Red  Lodge  and 
Rocky  fork  creeks. 

Our  county  was  first  occupied  exclusively  by  stock  growers,  and 
used  as  one  vast  range.  The  stockmen  paid  no  attention  to  the  rais- 
ing of  any  crops  other  than  hay,  and  depended  on  the  Gallatin  valley 
for  their  grain  and  vegetables.  The  building  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
railroad  and  the  consequent  building  up  of  towns  along  this  line 
created  a  demand  for  farm  products  that  induced  men  to  test  the 
capacities  of  the  soil,  and  the  raising  of  grain  and  vegetables  of  all 
kinds  was  found  so  profitable  that  all  the  land  that  can  be  watered 
cheaply  on  the  upper  Yellowstone  and  Shields  river  is  at  present 
under  cultivation,  and  Park  county's  stock-growing  interests  are  now 
second  to  her  agricultural.  Gradually  the  ranch  hunter  has  pushed 
up  the  smaller  streams  locating  the  valley  and  bottom  lands,  till  the 
latter  ones  have  been  f^Bd  to  the  bench  lands,  which  are  now,  well 
up  to  the  foot  of  the^nountains,  under  the  influence  of  water, 
ana  there  we  find  today  our  most  valuable  farms  and  by  far  the 
greatest  yields.  To  the  present  time  the  most  of  our  farming 
has  been  done  on  the  valleys  and  small  streams  where  the  settler 
could  build  his  ditch  quickly  and  at  small  expense.  The  waters  of 
these  streams  being  almost  all  appropriated  and  the  demand  for 
farm  products  far  in  excess  of  the  supply,  some  of  our  more  enter- 
prising citizens  have  been  induced  to  construct  expensive  ditches 
from  the  Yellowstone  river  to  irrigate  the  valleys  and  bench  lands 
adjacent  thereto,  which  could  not  be  reached  by  the  water  from  the 
smaller  streams.  The  year  1892  has  witnessed  the  construction  of  a 
ditch  fifteen  miles  in  length,  carrying  6,000  inches  of  water,  to  irri- 
gate the  valley  in  the  upper  Yellowstone;  two  ditches  between  Liv- 
ingston and  Mission  creek  bringing  some  6,000  acres  of  land  under 
the  wholesome  influence  of  irrigation,  thus  converting  table  land 
almost  worthless  into  valuable  farms.  Another  ditch  some  ten  miles 
in  length  is  carrying  10,000  inches  of  water  from  Big  Timber  creek 
into  the  fertile  and  productive  valley  of  Otter  creek.  These  three 
large  ditches  are  all  that  Park  county  can  boast  of  today. 

The  valley  of  the  Boulder  has  most  all  been  taken  up  and  placed 
under  irrigation  by  small  ditches,  but  the  bench  lands  on  both  sides 
of  the  river  have  not  yet  felt  the  influence  of  irrigation,  and  only 
await  the  construction  of  canals  too  expensive  for  the  individual 
farmer  to  build  to  bring  under  cultivation  farms  more  extensive  than 
are  now  under  cultivation,  in  the  bottoms  and  valleys. 

A  visit  to  the  upper  Sweet  Grass  valley  reveals  the  most  pros- 
perous of  all  Park  county  farms.  These  lands  are  watered  by  small 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  47 

mountain  streams  from  which  ditches  have  been  constructed  at  little 
expense,  but  here  again  are  the  bench  lands  lying  idle  for  lack  of 
capital  to  construct  irrigating  canals. 

The  southeastern  portion  of  Park  county  has  only  recently  been 
brought  to  the  attention  of  agriculturists  by  the  opening  of  the  Rocky 
fork  coal  mines,  and  the  construction  of  the  Rocky  fork  railroad. 
Here  we  find  the  Red  Lodge  and  Willow  creek  valleys,  that  are  sec- 
ond in  fertility  to  no  portion  of  the  United  States.  These  valleys 
comprise  50,000  acres  of  land  that  must  for  the  most  part  be  irrigated 
from  the' waters  of  the  Rocky  fork  creek,  but  canals  for  this  purpose 
can  not  be  built  at  a  cost  within  the  means  of  the  settlers  and  ranch- 
ers. For  this  purpose  capital  will  have  to  be  called  upon,  or  state 
aid  obtained  to  help  build  the  necessary  canals  and  ditches.  That 
portion  that  can  be  watered  by  the  smaller  streams  is  now  taken  up 
and  being  cultivated,  but  hundreds  of  valuable  locations  are  await- 
ing the  building  of  canals  only,  when  they  will  support  large  and 
prosperous  communities. 

Park  county  successfully  grows  all  kinds  of  small  fruits  and  apples 
of  the  hardier  varieties;  oats  from  forty  to  eighty  bushels  per  acre; 
wheat  of  a  good  quality  twenty-five  to  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre;  bar- 
ley not  excelled  anywhere;  potatoes  and  all  other  root  crops  in  such 
enormous  yields  that  we  hardly  dare  give  the  actual  figures,  as 
strangers  to  our  soil  could  not  believe  them  true.  It  is  only  with  the 
aid  of  irrigation  that  any  of  our  land  is  productive,  and  if  some 
equitable  system  can  be  devised  whereby  the  state  can  render  us  any 
assistance  it  will  certainly  add  millions  to  the  wealth  of  the  state  of 
Montana.  We  need  not  fear  overproduction  so  long  as  the  state  im- 
ports from  older  states  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  farm  products 
annually.  A  market  can  be  found  for  all  we  can  raise  at  home. 

T.  P.  Me  DONALD. 


MEAGHER  COUNTY. 

Mr.  Sutherlin  stated  that  the  report  from  Meagher  county  would 
be  similar  to  the  report  presented  last  year,  except  that  we  have 
made  considerable  progress  with  our  irrigation  in  Meagher  county. 
The  proposed  ditch  or  canal  spoken  of  in  that  report  has  been  put 
into  operation,  that  is,  a  company  has  been  organized  and  nearly  all 
of  the  stock  has  been  sold.  The  company  has  spent  about  three 
months  in  constructing  a  canal  four  or  five  miles  in  length.  Its 
machine  for  ditching  is  one  of  the  most  improved1  (I  have  forgotten 


48  SECOND   ANNUAL    SESSION. 

the  name  of  it)  and  it  does  the  work  admirably.  It  is  proposed  with 
this  canal  to  cover  the  portion  of  Meagher  county  that  remains  un- 
cultivated. I  believe  the  canal  will  be  a  great  thing  for  the  Missouri 
valley.  It  will  be  the  making  of  Broadwater  county — make  it  one  of 
the  best  agricultural  districts  in  the  state.  The  entire  bench  lands 
along  the  valley  are  good  and  will  produce  great  crops.  This  has 
been  proven  by  tests  already  made.  I  look  to  see  great  results  from 
that  canal. 

In  the  Musselshell  there  have  been  several  canals  taken  out 
within  the  last  year  or  two.  These  have  taken  about  all  the  water  of 
the  river.  The  longest  of  these  canals  is  about  seven  miles  long  and 
carries  about  800  inches  of  water.  The  other  is  probably  four  miles 
and  carries  the  same  amount  of  water. 


TETON   COUNTY. 

One  of  the  oldest  canals  is  the  Eldorado,  which  covers  an  area 
of  about  15,000  acres  of  land,  obtained  by  several  parties  upon  spec- 
ulation, which  is  non-productive  at  present.  This  canal  carries  about 
150  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  largest  canal  in  this  county  is  the 
Eureka,  about  forty-two  miles  in  length,  including  main  and  main 
laterals,  carrying  about  250  cubic  feet  per  second,  covering  an  area 
of  about  30,000  acres,  of  which  about  12,000  acres  have  been  filed  on. 
Both  of  the  above  canals  receive  their  water  from  the  Teton  river. 

There  are  several  small  canals  tapping  the  various  streams  in 
the  entire  county,  making  a  total  length  of  over  200  miles.  Within 
this  county  there  are  at  least  100,000  acres  of  land  under  these  canals 
the  greater  portion  of  which  would  be  purely  grazing  lands  were  it 
not  for  artificial  watering.  At  present  the  so-called  natural  hay 
lands  are  almost  a  failure  and  every  stockman  we  meet  says  we  will 
have  to  make  canals  on  our  lands  to  insure  us  plenty  of  hay  to  win- 
ter our  stock. 

It  is  universally  acknowledged  that  irrigation  is  the  only  means 
by  which  the  demands  can  be  supplied.  On  our  desert  lands  with 
canals  eighty  bushels  of  oats  per  acre  have  been  raised.  Wheat  and 
barley  are  looking  well  and  promise  an  excellent  yield  at  this  date. 
Bluejoint  hay  has  proven  quite  a  success  on  the  Basin  and  Eureka 
ranches.  All  herbs  and  etables  grow  in  abundance  in  this  entire 
county. 

Some  companies  claim  that  irrigation  will  not  pay  in  northern 
Montana,  but  a  Close  investigation  and  observation  have  revealed 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  49 

the  fact  that  their  claim  is  based  upon  experience  with  canals  poorlv 
constructed,  on  uneven  grades,  which  wash  in  some  places  and  fill 
up  in  others,  so  that  the  repairing  costs  more  than  the  actual  irriga- 
tion of  grain  and  grass;  also  the  manager  sends  men  out  that  never 
saw  a  ditch  before  and  does  not  instruct  them  by  going  personally  on 
the  ground,  and  the  next  time  the  water  is  turned  on  he  has  another 
new  man  and  sends  him  out  in  the  same  manner  as  before.  These 
men  let  the  water  run  too  long  in  one  place,  then  the  land  gets  too 
dry  and  ciusts,  and  the  result  is  a  poor  yield  of  grain  or  half  of  a 
crop  of  hay.  Irrigation  has  to  be  conducted  on  scientific  and  busi- 
ness-like principles. 

What  would  be  the  result  if  a  merchant,  a  bank  or  a  manufac- 
turing establishment  changed  employes  every  week  or  month?  It 
would  not  pay;  they  would  close  up.  As  it  has  been  in  the  past,  the 
markets  have  been  distant  from  most  of  the  fine  agricultural  lands, 
but  today  railroads  bring  them  within  easy  reach  of  all  valleys, 
which  should  insure  economic  farmers  a  fairly  good  profit  on  grain. 
Irrigation  will  make  these  bench  lands  graze  at  least  ten  head  of 
stock  to  where  they  will  now  graze  one  without  water. 

Another  detriment  to  the  cause  is  that  many  engineers  have  in- 
duced capitalists  to  invest  money  upon  certain  statements  which 
could  not  be  verified  and  they  put  in  large  sums  of  money,  but  their 
plant  finally  cost  three  or  four  times  the  original  estimate.  Water  is 
often  carried  past  choice  lands  a  long  distance  to  other  lands  and 
seepage  is  so  great  that  but  a  small  portion  of  the  water  gets  to  the 
land.  The  final  true  conclusion  is  a  non-paying  investment.  I 
honestly  and  sincerely  submit  my  opinions  based  upon  actual  experi- 
ence for  the  consideration  of  those  interested  in  irrigation. 

Very  truly,  M.  F.  ALLEN. 


YELLOWSTONE    COUNTY. 

There  is  practically  an  unlimited  supply  of  water  for  irrigation 
in  that  portion  of  the  Yellowstone  valley  tributary  to  Billings.  In 
Yellowstone  county  there  are  exclusive  of  the  recently  acquired  strip 
of  the  Crow  reservation  1,500,000  acres  of  irrigable  land,  of  which 
500,000  are  now  under  ditch.  All  of  the  larger  ditches  are  taken  out 
of  the  Yellowstone  river.  The  largest  is  that  owned  by  the  Minne- 
sota and  Montana  Land  and  Improvement  company,  which  is  forty 
miles  long.  It  is  controlled  by  the  heirs  of  Frederick  Billings  and 
Freeman  Clark.  It  is  a  high  line  ditch  and  there  are  60,000  acres  of 


50  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

first-class  land  under  it,  one-half  of  which  is  under  cultivation,  but 
principally  in  hay.  Other  ditches  are  the  Canyon  creek,  twenty- 
eight  miles  long,  in  the  center  of  the  valley,  owned  by  a  syndicate  of 
farmers;  Italian  ditch,  fifteen  miles  long;  Mill  ditch,,  company,  fifteen 
miles  long;  Clark's  Fork  Ditch  company,  ten  miles;  Yellowstone 
Ditch  company,  fifteen  miles;  Stillwater  ditch,  twelve  or  fifteen 
miles;  the  McAdow  ditch,  six  miles,  and  a  large  number  of  smaller 
ones,  the  latter  covering  about  30,000  acres  of  land.  All  these 
ditches,  save  that  of  the  Minnesota  and  Montana  company,  are 
owned  by  farmers'  syndicates,  each  share  of  stock  entitling  a  farmer 
to  an  inch  of  water.  The  river  has  a  fall  in  the  vicinity  of  Billings 
of  ten  to  fifteen  feet  to  the  mile,  while  the  fall  in  the  ditches  is  about 
three  feet  to  the  mile.  The  advantage  the  Yellowstone  valley  farmer 
has  over  the  eastern  agriculturist  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  never  has  to 
fertilize  his  land.  The  river  carries  in  its  current  fertilizing  material; 
the  ditches,  having  less  flow  than  the  river,  catch  the  fertilizer  and 
carry  it  on  the  land.  It  takes  three  years  to  get  a  first-class  crop, 
and  at  the  end  of  ten  years'  constant  use  the  soil  is  more  fertile  than 
at  the  end  of  three.  The  most  productive  ranches  in  the  valley  are 
those  that  have  been  cropped  the  most  often,  and  not  a  dollar  has 
been  spent  in  fertilizing. 

A  few  illustrations  will  show  how  profitable  farming  is  in  the 
Yellowstone  country,  and  how  successfully  mixed  farming  can  be 
carried  on.  The  first  man  to  experiment  with  the  raising  of  alfalfa 
in  Yellowstone  county  was  B.  F.  Shuart.  In  1883  he  took  up  640 
acres  of  land  near  Billings  under  the  desert  land  act,  and  with  no 
previous  experience  in  farming  and  a  capital  of  less  than  $500  he 
began.  He  devoted  his  attention  wholly  to  crop  raising  until  1887, 
when  he  bought  a  band  of  sheep  and  began  feeding  them  alfalfa.  In 
May,  1892,  he  sold  ranch,  buildings  and  stock  for  $40,000.  The  foun- 
dation of  his  success  was  his  ability  to  raise  alfalfa  and  feed  it  to  his 
sheep.  In  1881  the  farmers  within  twenty- five  miles  of  Billings  had 
a  surplus  of  3,000  tons  of  hay.  This  they  sold  at  $15  a  ton,  bringing 
the  farmers  in  that  small  radius  $45,000  cash.  It  cost  them  $3  in  the 
stack  and  $3  to  bale  and  deliver  at  the  railroad,  leaving  a  net  profit 
of  $9  a  ton.  The  next  year  the  market  for  hay  was  a  poor  one;  in- 
stead of  shipping  they  bought  small  bands  of  sheep,  fed  them  the 
surplus,  and  by  utilizing  the  hay  in  this  way  they  made  the  surplus 
hay  worth  to  them  $22  a  ton  in  mutton  and  wool.  In  the  last  five 
years  the  value  of  irrigated  land  has  risen  from  $5  to  $30  an  acre  in 
the  county.  The  largest  farm  in  the  county  is  that  operated  by 
Bailey  &  O'Donnell,  containing  5,000  acres.  It  is  mixed  farming  on 


STATE    IRRIGATION  CONVENTION.  51 

a  big  scale,  for  in  addition  to  large  crops  of  grain,  hay  and  vegeta- 
bles, they  run  7,000  or  8,000  head  of  sheep,  and  are  extensive  cattle 
and  horse  growers.  Mr.  O'Donnell  is  a  practical  farmer,  and  is  the 
superintendent  of  the  Minnesota  and  Montana  Land  and  Improve- 
ment company.  He  is  thoroughly  conversant  with  everything  in 
connection  with  irrigation,  having  made  a  study  of  the  systems  in 
Utah  and  Colorado.  He  is  among  the  successful  Yellowstone 
farmers.  » 

Statistics  carefully  kept  for  the  last  three  years  show  that  with 
ordinary  care  and  industry  every  cultivated  quarter  section  of  land 
in  the  valley  will  yield  a  net  annual  profit  of  $1,000.  This  is  on  the 
basis  of  what  has  been  raised,  and  not  what  might  be  produced  in 
addition.  The  dairy  interest  as  well  as  poultry  raising  is  almost  en- 
tirely neglected,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  thousands  of  dollars 
are  sent  out  of  Montana  into  Nebraska,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Utah  each 
year  for  butter,  eggs  and  chickens.  Hog  raising  could  also  be  suc- 
cessfully carried  on  by  the  Yellowstone  farmer.  They  do  splendidly 
on  alfalfa,  the  climate  is  all  right  fpr  them,  and  a  profitable  market  is 
always  assured. 

Some  time  ago  the  Crow  Indians  ceded  to  the  government 
2,000,000  acres  of  their  reservation,  and  this  is  now  open  to  settle- 
ment. It  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  from  Billings  and  contains 
some  of  the  best  land  in  the  state.  Five  hundred  thousand  acres  can 
be  irrigated.  Already  numerous  filings  have  been  made  upon  it,  but 
there  are  homes  there  for  hundreds  of  families.  These  500,000  acres 
are  well  watered  by  small,  swift  streams  that  have  their  source  in  the 
mountains.  There  is  a  running  stream  on  every  mile  or  two  of  the 
land,  so  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  build  only  short  and  compara- 
tively inexpensive  ditches  to  utilize  it.  The  streams  on  the  Crow 
reserve,  like  the  Yellowstone,  are  highest  in  July  and  August,  just 
when  they  are  most  needed,  because  they  are  fed  by  the  melting 
snow  high  up  in  the  mountains.  In  addition  to  the  land  acquired 
from  the  Crows,  and  the  unoccupied  land  in  the  Yellowstone  valley, 
there  are  1,000,000  acres  of  good  agricultural  land  in  what  is  known 
as  Lake  basin.  This  basin  is  thirty  miles  north  and  south  by  100 
east  and  west.  It  is  a  natural  depression,  surrounded  by  hills. 
There  is  a  large  shallow  lake  in  the  vicinity  which  offers  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  irrigate  a  large  portion  of  this  basin.  Lines  run  by 
representatives  of  the  United  States  geological  survey  showed  that  a 
high  line  ditch,  125  miles  long,  could  be  built,  which  would  cover  a 
great  portion  of  it,  and  that  the  cost  of  the  canal  would  not  exceed 
$10  an  acre.  One-half  of  the  land  the  ditch  would  cover  is  owned  by 


52  SECOND    ANNUAL   SESSION. 

the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  and  could  be  purchased  for  $2.50  to  $3 
an  acre;  the  rest  could  be  taken  up  under  the  desert  land  act,  320 
acres  by  each  settler.  A  company  building  such  a  ditch  and  buying 
the  railroad  land  could  sell  sufficient  of  it  to  settlers  at  $10  an  acre 
to  pay  for  the  construction  of  the  canal  and  still  have  the  water  for 
sale.  As  irrigated  land  is  worth  $20  to  $30  an  acre  within  three 
years  after  the  water  is  put  on  it,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  chance 
*for  profit  in  the  enterprise  both  for  the  company  and  the  settler.  A 
small  area  could  be  covered  at  a  cost  of  $250,000. 


BEAVERHEAD   COUNTY. 

Beaverhead  county  is  geographically  located  in  the  southwestern 
portion  of  the  state  and  well  up  on  the  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
range.  It  is  a  mountainous  district  with  an  area  of  about  4,500 
square  miles.  Of  this  area  about  800,000  acres  is  surveyed  land  and 
may  be  classified  as  follows:  200,000  acres  farming  land;  300,000 
acres  hay  and  grazing  land;  and  the  balance  "upper  bench"  land, 
suited  onlv  for  sheep  grazing.  Over  180,000  acres  have  been  re- 
claimed under  the  different  land  laws  and  final  proof  made  thereon, 
as  shown  by  the  records  of  the  Helena  and  Missoula  land  offices; 
and  the  great  bulk  of  this  land  is  now  kept  in  a  state  of  reclamation 
and  productiveness  by  the  process  of  irrigation.  However,  to  at- 
tempt to  give  the  mileage  of  the  private  ditches  and  their  laterals 
covering  a  vast  quantity  of  land,  in  a  report  of  this  kind,  would  be 
exceedingly  difficult,  and  our  readers  must  draw  on  their  imagina- 
tions for  conclusions.  The  county  is  traversed  by  the  following 
streams,  which  furnish  the  water  for  irrigation  in  the  valleys  in 
which  they  are  located,  to-wit:  The  Beaverhead,  Blacktail,  Rattle- 
snake, Grasshopper,  Horse  Prairie  creek,  Medicine  Lodge  creek, 
Trail  Creek,  Sage  creek,  Big  and  Little  Sheep  creeks,  Painter  creek, 
Birch  creek,  Willow  creek,  Rock  creek  and  Big  Hole  river.  Of  all 
these  streams  the  Beaverhead  is  the  most  important,  as  the  valley  of 
that  stream  is  the  principal  agricultural  valley  in  the  county.  There 
are  now  about  20,000  miner's  inches  of  water  claimed  in  this  stream 
and  being  used  for  irrigating  purposes  in  the  Beaverhead  valley> 
7,500  inches  of  which  is  claimed  by  the  Canyon  Ditch  Co.,  Union 
Ditch  Co.  and  Beaverhead  Canal  Co.  in  about  equal  propor- 
tions, and  the  balance  by  private  individuals.  The  valleys  of 
these  streams  are  for  the  most  part  at  too  great  an  altitude  to  be 
used  for  agricultural  purposes,  having  an  average  altitude  of  about 
5,000  feet. 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  53 

During  the  average  water  season  there  is  a  supply  in  the  Beaver- 
head  more  than  sufficient  to  fill  all  ditches  already  constructed,  but 
during  dry  seasons  such  as  1889  and  1890  there  was  not  enough  to 
supply  present  demands,  and  many  claimants  suffered  on  account  of 
shortage;  and  what  is  true  of  Beaverhead  in  this  respect  is  also  true 
of  every  other  stream  in  the  county  except  the  Big  Hole  river.  In 
fact  the  waters  of  all  other  streams  in  the  county  except  the  latter 
are  fully  appropriated,  and  the  contests  over  water  in  our  courts  in 
later  years  fully  prove  this. 

The  state  (through  our  land  commissioner)  has  selected  — 
acres  of  "table  lands"  in  Beaverhead  valley,  on  the  bench  west  of 
the  Beaverhead  river,  and  it  is  apparent  to  everyone  acquainted  with 
the  condition  of  irrigation  in  the  county  that  before  these  lands  can 
be  made  available  something  like  the  storage  process  must  be  re- 
sorted to.  During  the  high  water  seasons  the  amount  of  water  that 
flows  past  us  on  its  way  to  the  ocean  might  and  should  be  utilized  by 
being  turned  into  reservoirs  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  future  de- 
mands. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  every  acre  of  arid  land  in  this  county 
can  be  reclaimed  by  constructing  dams  at  the  outlets  of  the  lakes  on 
our  streams.  During  the  dry  seasons  of  1889  and  1890  I  was  short  of 
my  usual  supply  from  Rock  creek.  During  the  winter  of  1890-91  I 
constructed  a  dam  twelve  feet  high  at  the  first  lake  to  retain  the 
waste  water,  thus  giving  me  a  body  of  water  one-half  mile  wide  and 
more  than  a  mile  in  length.  Should  this  not  prove  sufficient  I  can 
build  dams  at  the  outlets  of  other  lakes  higher  up  the  stream.  Where 
there  are  no  lakes  it  is  not  difficult  to  find  flat  or  marshy  places 
where  a  dam  can  be  constructed  at  a  nominal  expense  with  timber, 
rock,  gravel,  etc.  This  work  can  be  done  during  the  winter  months. 

JOE  A.  BROWN. 


54  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

BARNARD   BROWN'S   REPORT. 

HELENA,  Mont.,  Feb.  22,  1893. 
Messrs.  H.  P.  ROLFE,  President  and  S.  B.  ROBBINS,  Secretary, 

Great  Falls,  Montana; 

Gentlemen:  Agreeable  to  your  communication  of  the  2oth  inst., 
I  submit  statement  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  Printing 
committee  of  the  Irrigation  convention  as  follows: 

RECEIVED. 

From  Deer  Lodge,  Dawson,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Custer, 
Gallatin,  Silver  Bow  (per  W.  A.  Clark),  Missoula, 
Meagher,  Fergus,  Park,  Madison,  Cascade,  Jefferson 
and  Choteau  counties — 14  counties — $100  each  $1,400 

From  Mr.  J.  H.  Longmaid  15 

DISBURSED. 

Paid  Helena  Independent  $900 

"     C.  D.  Greenfield,  compilation  165 

"     Jesse  Wilson,  stenographer  100 

"     O.  C.  Zoeckler,  typewriter  and  mailing  80 

"     for  postage,  express  and  stationery  42 

"     Discount  on  county  warrants  27 

"     Services  secretary  and  treasurer  101 
January  15  to  June  30,  1892. 

$1,415 
Yours  truly, 

B.  BROWN,  Sec.  &  Treas. 


Following  is  the  bill  of  the  Independent  Publishing  Co.,  which 
shows  a  discrepancy  of  $100  with  the  above,  in  the  matter  of  pay- 
ment to  Wilson,  stenographer: 

HELENA,  Mont.,  July  27,  1892. 
IRRIGATION  CONVENTION, 

To  INDEPENDENT  PUBLISHING  Co., 

_  DR. 

April  23,  Wilson,  stenographic  work  $100  oo 

"        2,  9,000  pamphlets  800  oo 

"      20,  500  note  circulars  4  S° 

22,  printing  on  500  envelopes  i  75 


CR. 


March  18,  Cash  $200  oo 

26,     "  ioo  oo 

April  4,  Cash  ioo  oo 


20, 


June  6, 

"  22, 

"  27, 

July  ii, 


IOO  00 
IOO  OO 
IOO  OO 
IOO  OO 
IOO  OO 

625 


$906  25  $906  25 


STATE    IRRIGATION   CONVENTION.  55 

RULES,  REGULATIONS  AND  LIST  OF  CHARTER  MEMBERS 

OF  THE  MONTANA  STATE  IRRIGATION  SOCIETY. 

[Instituted  February  10,  1892.] 

NAME,    OBJECTS,    ETC. 

Sec.  i.  The  name  of  this  association  shall  be  "The  Montana 
State  Irrigation  Society." 

Sec.  2.  The  objects  of  the  society  are  to  promote  among  its 
members  the  arts  and  sciences  connected  with  the  economical  use 
and  application  of  water  for  the  purpose  of  irrigation;  the  welfare  of 
those  employed  in  the  different  branches  of  irrigation;  to  recommend 
the  enactment  of  suitable  laws;  the  furtherance  of  research  and  ex- 
perimentation with  the  different  problems  of  irrigation  as  found  in 
the  state  of  Montana,  these  objects  to  be  accomplished  by  means  of 
meetings  for  social  intercourse  and  the  reading  and  discussion  of 
papers;  and  to  circulate  by  means  of  publications  among  its  mem- 
bers the  information  thus  obtained. 

Sec.  3.  The  members  of  this  society  shall  be  persons  interested 
in  irrigation.  To  become  a  member  of  this  society  all  persons  must 
be  proposed  by  a  member,  accompanied  with  a  fee  of  admission  and 
the  applicant's  postoffice  address,  and  his  application  shall  be  re- 
ferred to  the  committee  on  membership,  consisting  of  three  members 
of  the  executive  committee,  the  secretary  and  the  treasurer  of  the 
society,  who  shall  examine  his  application,  and  if  they  deem  the  ap- 
plicant a  proper  person,  the  secretary  shall  notify  him  and  place  his 
name  upon  the  list  of  members.  Ail  persons  admitted  as  members 
shall  bind  themselves  to  the  observance  of  all  by-laws,  resolutions 
and  regulations  of  the  society  that  are  now  in  force  or  may  hereafter 
be  adopted,  under  a  penalty  of  forfeiture  of  membership.  All  mem- 
berships must  be  personal. 

Sec.  4.  The  dues  of  members  shall  be  $5,  payable  on  their  elec- 
tion, and  $5  per  annum  thereafter,  payable  in  advance  at  the  annual 
meeting.  Honorary  members  shall  not  be  liable  to  dues.  Any  mem- 
ber in  arrears  may  at  the  discretion  of  the  executive  committee  be 
deprived  of  the  receipt  of  publications  or  stricken  from  the  list  of 
members  when  in  arrears  for  one  year;  provided,  that  he  may  be 
restored  to  membership  by  the  executive  committee  on  payment  of 
all  arrears  or  by  re-election  after  an  interval  of  two  years. 

OFFICERS. 

Sec.  5.  The  officers  of  this  society  shall  consist  of  a  president, 
two  vice  presidents,  a  secretary,  a  treasurer  and  an  executive  com- 
mittee. The  executive  committee  shall  consist  of  one  member  from 
each  county,  and  five  members  of  the  executive  committee  shall 
constitute  a  quorum.  The  officers  shall  all  be  elected  at  the  regular 
annual  meeting,  and  shall  hold  their  offices  one  year,  or  until  their 
successors  are  elected  and  appointed.  The  duties  of  all  the  above 
officers  shall  be  such  as  usually  pertain  to  their  offices  or  may  be 
delegated  to  them  by  the  executive  committee  or  the  society.  The 
society  shall  also  elect  a  commission  of  five  engineers,  who  shall  re- 
port at  the  annual  meetings  or  if  called  upon  by  the  executive  com- 
mittee, regarding  the  state  of  the  science  of  irrigation.  The  presi- 
dent shall  appoint  one  representative  from  each  county  in  the  state, 


56  SECOND   ANNUAL   SESSION. 

whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  present  at  the  annual  meetings  of  the  soci- 
ety a  written  report  regarding  the  condition  of  the  irrigation  canals 
and  ditches  in  his  county.  Such  representatives  shall  be  superin- 
tendents of  canals  or  men  actively  engaged  in  the  work  of  irrigation. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Sec.  6.  These  rules  may  be  amended  at  any  annual  meeting  by 
a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  members  present. 

•      TIME    AND    PLACE    OF    MEETINGS. 

Sec.  7.  The  annual  meeting  of  this  society  shall  be  held  on  the 
second  Thursday  in  January  of  each  year.  The  place  of  holding 
such  annual  meetings  shall  be  determined  by  vote  of  the  society  at 
its  preceding  annual  meeting.  The  time  and  place  of  the  quarterly 
meetings  shall  be  fixed  by  the  executive  committee. 

LIST    OF    OFFICERS. 

JOHN  M.  ROBINSON,  President,  Bozeman. 

I.  D.  O'DoNNELL,  First  Vice  President,  Billings. 

CHAS    H.  WRIGHT,  Second  Vice  President,  Great  Falls. 

H.  M.  PAKCHEN,  Treasurer,  Helena. 

S.  B.  ROHBINS,  Secretary,  Great  Falls. 

EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE. 

Beaverhead,  W.  M.  Oliver;  Cascade,  H.  P.  Rolfe;  Choteau,  T.  C 
Burns;  Custer,  -  — ;  Dawson,  —  — ;  Deer  Lodge,  — ; 

Fiathead,  Fred  Whiteside;  Fergus, —  — ;  Gallatin,  W.  W.  Alder- 
son;  Granite,—  — ;  Jefferson,  J.  E.  Keating;  Lewis  and  Clarke, 
Donald  Bradford;  Meagher,  W.  H.  Sutherlin;  Missoula,  —  — ; 
Madison,  J.  T.  Conner;  Park,  Alfred  Meyers;  Ravalli, 


Silver  Bow,  —         — ;  Teton,  Z.  T.  Burton;  Valley, —         — ;  Yellow- 
stone, —         — . 

COMMITTEE    ON    MEMBERSHIP. 

H.  M.  Parchen,  S.  B.  Robbins,  H.  P.  Rolfe,  W.  W.  Alderson  and 
W.  H.  Sutherlin. 

ENGINEERS    COMMISSION. 

John  W.  Wade,  Chairman,  Helena;  S.  B.  Robbins,  Great  Falls; 
C.  M.  Thorpe,  Bozeman. 

CHARTER    MEMBERS. 

Alderson,  W.  W.,  Bozeman;  Bradford,  Donald,  Helena;  Browne, 
Jos.  A.,  Melrose;  Burns,  T.  C.,  Chinook;  Burton,  Z.  T.,  Choteau; 
Conner,  John  T.,  Virginia  City;  Conrow,  J.  M.,  Livingston;  Gilbert, 
Wm.  R.,  Dillon;  Harris,  Lyman  C.,  Box  974,  Helena;  Holter,  A.  M.. 
Helena;  Hoppe,  H.  J.,  Livingston;  Keating,  John  A.,  Helena;  Mc- 
Donald, T.  P.,  Red  Lodge;  Meyers,  Alfred,  Livingston;  Murray,  W. 
H.,  Belgrade;  Nelson,  A.  H./Helena;  O'Donnell,  I.  D.,  Billings; 
Oliver,  W.  M.,  Dillon;  Parchen,  H.  M.,  Helena;  Parker,  W.  F., 
Great  Falls;  Perkins,  J.  L.,  Helena;  Porter,  N.  T.,  Great  Falls; 

8uaintance,  A.  C.,  Boulder;  Reese,  Thomas,  Bozeman;  Rolfe,  H.  1'., 
reat  Falls;  Robinson,  John  M.,  Bozeman;  Robbins,  S.  B.,  Great 
Falls;  Ryan,  Ed.,  Finn;  Sales,  Chas.,  Salesville;  Sanders,  W.  F., 
Helena;  Shuart,  B.  F.,  Bozeman;  Sutherlin,  W.  H.,  White  Sulphur 
Springs;  Swallow,  G.  C.,  Helena;  Thorpe,  C.  M.,  Bozeman;  Wade, 
John  W.,  Helena;  Winne,  Peter,  Helena;  Whiteside,  Fred,  Kalispel; 
Wright,  Chas.  H.,  Great  Falls. 


Photomount 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

CAT.  JAN  21,  1908 


583218 


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